ntoeratg  of 
California 


'  •  - 

y'      ^  of  •»  •-  - 

!HfM,   .    <-     . 


The    Negro    Problem 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution 


By 

William  P.  Pickett 

Abraham   Lincoln 
After  a  photograph  -by-^ice,  Washington 
Copyright,  1901,  by  Gilbo  &  Co  ,  New  York 


Diseases  desperate  grown 
By  desperate  appliance  are  relieved, 
Or  not  at  all. 

Html*, 


. 


G.    P,    Putnam's  Sons 

New    York     and     Lo. 

Imtcfeerbocfcer  press 
1909 


The    Negro    Problem 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution 


By 

William  P.  Pickett 


Diseases  desperate  grown 
By  desperate  appliance  are  relieved, 
Or  not  at  all. 

Hamlet, 


G.    P.    Putnam's   Sons 

New    York     and     London 

Imtcfcerbocfcer 
1909 


SPRECKELS 


COPYRIGHT  iqog 

BY 

WILLIAM  P.  PICKETT 


Tlbc  ftnfcfeerbocfeer  fSreea,  flew  Jporh 


TO  THE  THINKING  MEN  AND  WOMEN  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES,  WHO,  REALIZING  THE 
GRAVITY  OF  THE  NEGRO  PROBLEM,  ARE  SEEK 
ING  IN  PERPLEXITY  FOR  ITS  SOLUTION, 
THIS  WORK  IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED. 


189792 


Our  part  is  not  fitly  sustained  upon  the  earth  unless  the 
range  of  our  intended  and  deliberate  usefulness  includes 
not  only  the  companions,  but  the  successors  of  our  pilgrimage. 

God  has  lent  us  the  earth  for  our  life;  it  is  a  great  entail. 
It  belongs  as  much  to  those  who  are  to  come  after  us,  and 
whose  names  are  already  written  in  the  book  of  creation,  as 
to  us;  and  we  have  no  right,  by  anything  that  we  do  or 
neglect,  to  involve  them  in  unnecessary  penalties,  or  to 
deprive  them  of  benefits  which  it  was  in  our  power  to  be 
queath.  And  this  the  more,  because  it  is  one  of  the  appointed 
conditions  of  the  labor  of  men  that  in  proportion  to  the  time 
between  the  seed-sowing  and  the  harvest,  is  the  fulness  of  the 
fruit,  and  that  generally,  therefore,  the  farther  off  we  place 
our  aim  and  the  less  we  desire  to  be  ourselves  the  witnesses 
of  what  we  have  labored  for,  the  more  wide  and  rich  will  be 
the  measure  of  our  success. 

Men  cannot  benefit  those  who  are  with  them  as  they  can 
benefit  those  who  come  after  them;  and  of  all  the  pulpits 
from  which  human  voice  is  ever  sent  forth,  there  is  none 
from  which  it  reaches  so  far  as  from  the  grave. 

JOHN  RUSKIN. 


PREFACE 

IN  presenting  to  the  public  another  work  upon  the  much 
discussed  negro  question,  it  seems  fitting  that  some  word 
of  explanation  should  be  offered  as  to  the  reason  for  its 
appearance.  For  some  years  the  subject  has  been  to  me 
one  of  engrossing  interest,  and  in  my  reading  from  time  to 
time  of  the  controversial  literature  upon  the  subject  in  its 
various  relations,  I  have  been  forcibly  impressed  by  the 
constant  repetition  of  the  thought  that  the  problem  is  in 
its  essential  character  insoluble.  This  view  finds  expression 
in  the  repeated  employment  of  this  particular  word,  and 
also  in  the  frequent  recurrence  of  phrases  of  similar  import, 
denoting  an  apparent  acceptance  of  the  hopelessness  of 
any  attempt  to  secure  a  satisfactory  adjustment  of  the  re 
lations  between  the  Caucasian  and  African  races  in  this 
country. 

It  was  the  consideration  of  this  aspect  of  the  problem 
which  induced  me  to  give  the  subject  renewed  examination, 
in  order  to  ascertain  whether  the  present  unsatisfactory 
condition  of  affairs  must  continue  indefinitely  to  embarrass 
our  national  development,  or  whether,  after  all,  this  old  and 
vexatious  question  is  not  susceptible  of  a  solution  at  once 
adequate  and  righteous.  Can  there  be,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  a  national  evil  of  this  momentous  character  so  deeply 
rooted  in  our  institutions  as  to  be  impossible  of  extirpation? 

In  pursuing  this  line  of  inquiry,  I  was  soon  to,  learn  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  had  early  elaborated  a  plan  to  guard  his 
country  against  the  future  evils  which  he  clearly  discerned 


vi  Preface 

as  originating  in  the  presence  of  the  negro;  and  that  having 
once  proposed  this  plan  to  his  countrymen  he  had  steadily 
adhered  to  it  up  to  the  hour  of  his  untimely  death.  The 
thought  then  came  to  me  to  examine  the  present  condition 
of  the  matter,  and  to  ascertain  if  Lincoln's  plan  was  yet 
feasible  and  if  it  could  be  successfully  applied  under  the 
changed  circumstances  brought  about  by  the  forty-six 
years  which  have  passed  since  he  issued  the  famous  Emanci 
pation  Proclamation.  After  study  and  reflection,  feeling 
profoundly  convinced  that  the  plan  is  still  feasible,  and  that 
the  years  which  have  elapsed  since  Lincoln  laid  it  before 
Congress  have  but  served  as  a  period  of  preparation  for 
its  execution,  I  have  determined  to  invite  the  attention  of  my 
readers  to  a  serious  and  thorough  investigation  of  this  im 
portant  subject. 

I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  circumstance  that  others  have 
suggested  the  same  remedy,  and  that  in  many  studies  upon 
the  problem  it  has  been  the  subject  of  casual  discussion. 
Its  obvious  character  would  assure  that  fact.  But  I  am 
not  aware  of  the  existence  of  any  work  devoted  to  the  topic 
upon  the  lines  advocated  by  Lincoln,  and  which  addresses 
itself  solely  to  the  consideration  of  the  solution  of  the  problem. 
Books  there  are  in  plentiful  supply,  of  discussion  of  the  his 
tory  of  the  slavery  question  and  of  the  virtues  and  defects 
of  our  negro  population,  but  none  devoted  exclusively  to 
the  subject  of  providing  a  remedy  for  a  concededly  intol 
erable  situation. 

The  plan  proposed  in  the  following  pages  is  advanced 
as  a  radical  remedy  for  the  evil  caused  by  the  presence  of 
the  negro  race,  which  so  seriously  affects  the  national  welfare. 
It  is  not  urged  as  an  evasion  of  our  responsibility,  or  as  a 
postponement  of  the  question,  or  as  a  palliative  of  the  evil. 
It  dares  by  analysis  to  seek  the  origin  of  the  disease,  and  by 
foresight,  coupled  with  generosity,  to  apply  the  means  requi- 


Preface  vii 

site  for  its  cure.  Although  the  proposed  solution  is  difficult, 
it  is  beyond  question  practicable,  and  though  expensive 
in  the  beginning  would  be  found  in  the  end  to  subserve  the 
purposes  of  economy. 

In  my  treatment  of  the  subject  I  have  endeavored  to 
be  scrupulously  accurate  in  the  presentation  of  facts,  and 
fair  in  the  inferences  and  conclusions  which  I  have  sought 
to  deduce  from  them.  The  book  is  not  written  to  promote 
any  theory  of  politics  or  to  advance  the  fortunes  of  any 
political  organization.  If  there  be  in  its  pages  matter  cal 
culated  to  give  offence  to  any  section  of  the  country,  or  to 
any  race  or  class  of  people,  this  arises  from  the  necessity 
of  frank  and  fearless  speaking  upon  the  subject,  and  not 
from  any  desire  of  mine  to  inflict  needless  affront. 

I  feel  that  the  work  needs  no  apology  for  its  existence. 
"By  the  truth  alone  we  are  made  free,"  and  the  purpose  of 
the  book  is  the  ascertainment  of  truth.  For  upward  of 
a  century  the  country  has  wrangled  and  theorized  about 
the  negro  race.  Its  presence  in  the  land  has  always  oper 
ated  as  an  impediment  to  progress  and  as  an  element  of 
national  disintegration.  Our  late  Civil  War  is  directly 
attributable  to  our  contention  concerning  the  black  man, 
and  on  at  least  three  other  occasions  in  our  history  the 
menace  of  fratricidal  strife  has  arisen,  invoked  by  causes 
springing  directly  from  sectional  differences  upon  the  sub 
ject  of  his  treatment.  In  the  present  acute  and  unsatis 
factory  condition  of  the  subject  of  the  negro's  future,  the 
suggestion  of  a  little  heart  searching  upon  the  problem 
appears  timely,  and  if  the  present  work  may  in  some  small 
measure  contribute  to  its  final  and  successful  solution,  my 
purpose  will  be  accomplished. 

My  intention  has  been  to  spare  the  reader,  so  far  as  possible, 
the  labor  of  examining  tables  of  statistics.  I  have,  therefore, 
introduced  only  such  matter  of  this  character  as  seemed 


viil  Preface 

indispensable  to  the  proper  development  of  the  thought, 
and  have  sought  to  make  the  application  of  the  figures  pre 
sented  of  the  most  practical  character. 

In  conclusion,  I  desire  to  express  my  obligation  to  the 
many  friends  who  have  aided  and  encouraged  me  in  the 
preparation  of  this  work.  Especially,  to  Mr.  Hugo  Wintner 
of  the  New  York  Bar,  for  his  invaluable  assistance  in  the 
reading  and  revision  of  the  manuscript  and  his  numerous 
suggestions  leading  to  improvement  of  the  text;  to  my 
brother,  Mr.  J.  D.  Pickett,  for  like  services  and  for  his 
constant  helpfulness  in  the  correction  of  the  proofs  and  the 
preparation  of  the  book  for  publication;  and  to  Miss  Ethel 
L.  Frost,  for  her  untiring  assistance  in  the  preparation  of 
the  manuscript  and  for  many  valuable  suggestions  as  to 
the  form  and  arrangement  of  the  matter. 

WILLIAM  P.  PICKETT. 
NEW  YORK,  January  i,  1909. 


CONTENTS 

BOOK  I. 
THE  PROBLEM. 

HAPTER  PAGE 

I.     The  Character  of  the  Problem        ...          3 

II.     The  History  of  the  Problem            .          .  .        29 

III.  The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem     .          .  -47 

IV.  The  Present  Condition  of  the  Negro  Race  .        68 
V.     Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem           .  .        96 

VI.     Why  Attempt  to  Solve  the  Problem  at  All  ?  .      125 

BOOK  II. 

THE  PROPOSED  SOLUTIONS. 

I.     The  Solution  of  the  South     .          .          .  .      153 

II.     Lynching  as  an  Element  of  the  Problem  .      178 

III.  The  Solution  of  the  North     .          .          .  .204 

IV.  The  Political  Phase  of  the  Problem.        .  .      229 
"  V.     The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro.        .  .259 

VI.     The  Negro's  Solution 285 

Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution            .          .  .     306 


Contents 

BOOK  III. 
THE  TRUE  SOLUTION. 


PAGE 


I.     The  Proposed  Solution  .          .          .  -333 

II.     Ways  and  Means  .          .          .          .  .352 

III.  Where  is  the  Negro  to  Go?    .          .          .  .381 

IV.  Objections  to  be  Considered             .          .  .410 
V.     The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        .          .  .      440 

BOOK  IV. 

THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  SOLUTION. 

I.     The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro    .  .  .467 

II.     The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South     .  .  .      487 

III.  The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation     .  .  .516 

IV.  Elements  of  American  Citizenship  .  .      538 
V.     Conclusion  ......  r6i 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE          ....     567 
INDEX  .          .  e« 


BOOK  I 
The  Problem 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

The  longer  I  live  and  the  more  I  study  the  question,  the  more  I 
am  convinced  that  it  is  not  so  much  a  problem  as  to  what 
the  white  man  will  do  with  the  negro  as  what  the  negro  will 
do  with  the  white  man  and  his  civilization. — BOOKER  T. 
WASHINGTON. 

THE  purpose  of  this  work  is  to  present  to  the  people  of 
the  United  States  a  plan  for  the  solution  of  the  negro 
problem,  upon  the  lines  proposed  forty-six  years  ago  by 
Abraham  Lincoln.  The  intention  is  to  restrict  the  discussion 
as  far  as  possible  to  the  questions  of  the  present  condition 
of  the  problem  and  the  means  of  effecting  its  solution,  and 
to  refrain  from  dwelling  upon  its  origin,  history,  and  the 
unfortunate  episodes  connected  with  it  in  the  past,  except 
in  so  far  as  consideration  of  these  subjects  may  serve  to 
light  our  footsteps  along  the  path  of  the  main  inquiry. 

Numerous  volumes,  enough  in  themselves  to  constitute 
an  extensive  literature,  have  been  devoted  to  the  history, 
character,  humor,  and  pathos  of  the  negro  race  in  the  United 
States,  and  to  the  discussion  of  the  social,  political,  scientific, 
and  moral  aspects  of  the  problem  created  by  its  presence. 
These  works  illuminate  the  present  with  the  story  of  the 
past,  and  compel  our  absorbing  interest  in  the  record  of  the 
struggle  to  secure  freedom  for  a  downtrodden  people;  but 
as  the  sole  motive  of  the  present  writer  is  to  place  before 
the  thoughtful  men  and  women  of  the  country  a  practi- 

3 


4  The  Negro  Problem 

cal  working  plan  for  the  final  solution  of  the  problem,  to 
that  immediate  purpose  all  discussion  will  be  particularly 
directed. 

The  plan  of  the  work  embraces  a  division  of  the  subject 
into  four  parts: 

FIRST:  An  examination  of  the  problem  as  to  its  present 
condition,  with  reference  to  its  character  and  dimensions, 
its  dangers,  and  the  reasons  which  so  urgently  enforce  the 
necessity  of  a  solution. 

SECOND:  An  inquiry  as  to  the  character  of  the  plans  here 
tofore  offered  for  its  solution,  and  a  determination  as  to  the 
righteousness  of  their  adoption  and  their  adequacy  for  the 
purpose  of  a  final  adjustment. 

THIRD:  A  statement  of  the  plan  proposed  by  the  writer, 
founded  upon  the  principles  advocated  by  Abraham  Lincoln, 
with  a  discussion  of  the  methods  by  which  the  plan  offered 
for  consideration  could  be  carried  out,  and  of  the  objections 
which  might  apparently  be  urged  against  its  execution. 

FOURTH:  A  discussion  of  the  beneficial  results  certain  to 
follow  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  remedy,  as  well  to  the 
negro  as  to  the  white  race. 

Few  persons  of  discerning  mind  would  be  disposed  to 
deny  that  the  gravest  question  now  confronting  this  nation 
is  the  one  which,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  we  designate 
"THE  NEGRO  PROBLEM."  This  question  concerns  itself 
with  the  formation  of  a  definite  plan  for  the  permanent  ad 
justment  of  the  future  relations  of  the  Caucasian  and  Negro 
races  now  inhabiting  the  country.  It  is  a  question  of  supreme 
importance;  one  neither  to  be  evaded  nor  postponed.  Deeply 
rooted  in  our  country's  history,  defying  all  efforts  heretofore 
made  to  bring  about  its  solution,  this  negro  problem  is  the 
one  glaring  blot  upon  the  record  of  our  national  progress, 
the  one  enigma  for  which  we  can,  apparently,  find  no  satis 
factory  explanation. 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  5 

It  is,  indeed,  the  one  question  which,  past,  present,  and 
future,  overshadows  all  others  affecting  our  national  de 
velopment.  In  one  great  section  of  the  country  it  obtrudes 
itself  into  all  forms  of  industrial  and  business  relations, 
and  shapes  the  social  and  political  institutions  of  the  people. 
It  occupies  the  attention  of  our  courts  and  legislatures, 
and  in  its  special  developments  defies  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  country.  The  presence  of  a  large  element  of  the 
negro  race  tends  to  alienate  our  people  on  the  subject  of 
religious  belief,  to  impair  the  discipline  of  our  army,  and  to 
disturb  our  foreign  relations.  Further,  it  strikes  at  the 
very  root  of  our  national  virtue  by  rendering  our  elections 
in  the  South  fraudulent, — a  mere  series  of  unworthy  subter 
fuges; — while  in  countless  ways  it  corrupts  the  physical, 
intellectual,  and  moral  fibre  of  the  nation.  The  strained 
relations  engendered  by  the  race  antagonism  between  the 
blacks  and  the  whites  operate  at  once  as  a  clog  upon  the 
progress  of  the  white  race  and  a  barrier  against  any  advance 
ment  on  the  part  of  the  black. 

In  the  presence  of  this  problem  of  the  negro,  all  others 
are  dwarfed  into  insignificance,  and  thinking  minds  concede 
that  this  is  for  our  country  the  supreme  social  question  of 
the  time.  Other  important  issues  arise,  demand  solution, 
and  are  disposed  of  with  satisfactory  results,  passing  with 
settlement  out  of  public  attention, — but  this  problem  remains. 
All  of  our  other  exigent  social  questions  involving  moral 
and  economic  considerations  are  from  one  or  another  view 
point  susceptible  of  solution; — we  can  at  least  perceive  some 
prospect  of  improvement,  and  can  forecast  the  probable 
result  of  remedial  measures. 

If  we  have  a  problem  of  divorce,  we  can  read  the  solution 
in  the  evolution  of  a  higher  conception  of  individual  duty, 
conjoined  with  the  abolition  of  conflicting  and  incongruous 
laws  among  the  states,  and  the  substitution  of  a  harmonious 


6  The  Negro  Problem 

national  system.  If  we  have  a  disheartening  problem  o) 
child  labor,  we  may  reasonably  expect  that  by  carefully 
drafted  statutes,  rigidly  administered  and  enforced  through 
public  sentiment,  the  little  ones  may  be  rescued  from  parental 
indifference  and  the  heartless  greed  of  employers.  If  we 
have  a  problem  of  immigration,  we  know  that  by  the  ex 
clusion  of  undesirable  elements  and  judicious  selection  and 
careful  distribution  of  those  permitted  to  enter  the  country 
and  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  our  institutions,  we  can  control 
the  situation  and  minimize  possible  evils.  If  we  have  a 
grave  problem  involving  the  management  of  railways,  we 
can  readily  see  how,  by  state  supervision  or  federal  control, 
reforms  may  be  introduced  and  the  crying  abuses  of  the  time 
lessened,  or,  indeed,  eventually  abolished. 

But  the  negro  problem,  older  than  our  national  existence, 
increasing  in  magnitude  and  complexity  with  every  decade, 
— after  years  of  discussion,  effort,  and  toil,  after  untold  sacri 
fice  of  life  and  money, — confronts  us  to-day  as  it  did  our 
ancestors  at  the  formation  of  the  Constitution, — grim, 
menacing,  unsolved,  and  apparently  unsolvable. 

No  other  of  our  troublesome  questions  necessitates  a 
division  of  the  nation  along  geographical  lines.  The  sugar 
planter  of  Louisiana  upholds  the  doctrine  of  a  protective 
tariff  quite  as  ardently  as  the  lumberman  of  Wisconsin  or 
the  hop  grower  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley.  The  advocate 
of  the  prohibition  of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  liquor 
in  Vermont  rejoices  when  Georgia  decrees  the  downfall  of 
the  saloon.  Massachusetts  resists  the  proposed  merger  of 
the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad  with  the 
Boston  and  Maine  with  the  same  arguments  and  zeal  that 
Alabama  employs  in  enforcing  her  recently  adopted  passen 
ger-rate  law.  The  negro  question  alone  is  now,  as  it  always 
has  been,  in  its  larger  aspects  one  of  geographical  character, 
an  impelling  force  toward  the  division  of  the  country. 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  7 

Further  and  even  more  important,  by  its  very  character 
this  problem  has  a  deeper  gravity  than  any  other.  It  de 
notes  an  evil  which  is  organic  rather  than  functional.  It' 
touches  the  very  life  of  the  nation  because  it  relates  to  the 
material  out  of  which  future  citizenship  is  to  be  developed. 
Other  social  problems  concern  themselves  with  the  modifi 
cation  or  improvement  of  the  material, — this  touches  the 
very  composition  of  the  material  itself.  The  United  States 
has  been  not  inaptly  called  "the  smelting-pot  of  the  nations," 
but  if  the  material  cast  into  this  gigantic  crucible  is  base  and 
not  susceptible  of  high  finish,  the  product  can  be  but  dross, 
no  matter  what  skill  and  effort  may  be  expended  in  its 
composition. 

For  reasons  which  will  be  more  definitely  set  forth  in  the 
succeeding  chapters,  the  present  situation  of  affairs  appears 
to  be  exceedingly  propitious  to  a  renewal  of  the  discussion 
concerning  the  solution  of  the  problem.  Indeed,  events 
bearing  upon  its  embarrassing  influence  on  our  national 
development  crowd  so  closely  upon  one  another's  heels, 
that  it  seems  as  though  some  definite  adjustment  of  the 
vexatious  question  could  not  long  be  deferred.  News 
papers  and  magazines  contain  multitudinous  contributions 
upon  the  various  phases  of  the  subject,  while  the  output 
of  books  devoted  to  discussion  of  the  question  appears  to 
have  no  limit.  Many  expressions  could  be  quoted  from 
these  sources  to  the  effect  that,  while  the  problem  is  daily 
becoming  more  and  more  pressing,  the  ultimate  solution 
appears  to  be  more  remote  than  ever,  and  the  prospect  of 
amelioration  of  the  evil  correspondingly  dubious. 

In  order  clearly  to  comprehend  the  nature  of  the  task 

before  us,  our  first  step  must  be  to  define  and  analyze  the 

The  Cause    subject  of  the  discussion.     In  seeking  the  cause 

of  the          of  the  existence  of  the  NEGRO  PROBLEM,  we  find 

ourselves    confronted    by    an    unfortunate    and 


8  The  Negro  Problem 

unprecedented  situation.  So  far  as  it  affects  the  United 
States,  it  arises  from  the  presence  within  the  country  of  ap 
proximately  ten  million  persons  of  an  alien,  inferior,  and 
unassimilable  race,  domiciled  principally  in  the  southeastern 
section,  where,  in  some  states  and  in  many  large  portions  of 
other  states,  they  form  a  majority  of  the  population. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  framing  the  foregoing  state 
ment  of  the  origin  of  the  problem  the  negro  has  been  char- 
The  Ne  ro  acter^ze(^  as  being  of  an  alien  race.  Such  is 
an  Alien  his  essential  quality.  The  residue  of  the  popu 
lation  of  the  country  is  substantially  of  what 
is  variously  termed  Indo-European  or  Caucasian  extraction, 
presenting  in  its  ethnic  characteristics  a  complete  antithesis 
to  the  African  or  Ethiopian  type.  Throughout  this  dis 
cussion  the  term  Caucasian  will  be  employed  as  describ 
ing  the  white  people  of  the  United  States  as  a  measure 
of  convenience,  and  without  strict  regard  to  its  scientific 
accuracy. 

The  great  majority  of  the  negroes  now  in  the  United 
States  are  the  descendants  of  African  tribes,  but  two  or 
three  generations  removed  from  their  original  surroundings. 
Merely  transplanting  their  forefathers  from  the  African 
continent  to  the  United  States  has  in  no  manner  changed 
the  nature  of  the  race  or  brought  it  nearer  in  physical  or 
moral  attributes  to  the  Caucasian.  Except  for  some  slight 
intermixture  of  blood,  producing  a  mulatto  type,  the  negroes 
remain  as  completely  aliens  to  the  whites  as  are  their  cousins 
in  Africa  to-day.  The  Caucasian  race  has  been  for  cen 
turies,  in  one  or  another  capacity,  the  superior  guiding  and 
controlling  force  in  human  history,  and  its  record  contains 
the  epitome  of  human  achievement.  During  the  same 
period,  on  the  contrary,  the  negro  has  occupied  in  every 
relation  of  life  a  subordinate  position,  either  as  a  savage 
awaiting  the  touch  of  civilization,  or  as  a  servile  people, 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  9 

existing  under  the  control  and  direction  of  the  more  highly 
civilized  race. 

Ethnologically  speaking,  whether  we  adopt  the  doctrine 
of  monogeny  and  insist  upon  the  original  unity  of  the  human 
race,  or  embrace  the  theory  of  separate  race  beginnings 
with  progressive  amalgamation,  in  either  case  we  must  admit 
that  the  two  races,  as  we  find  them  in  the  United  States  at 
the  present  time,  stand  at  the  opposite  poles  of  human  ap 
pearance  and  character.  Accepting  the  broad  division  of 
the  anthropologists,  which,  while  classifying  mankind  on 
differing  theories  as  to  color,  character  of  hair,  or  formation 
of  skull,  yet  concur  in  separating  the  world's  population 
into  the  distinctive  Caucasian,  Mongolian,  and  Negro  groups, 
we  find  that  whatever  method  of  distinguishment  is  followed, 
the  result  is  the  same. 

The  white  man  and  the  negro  are  at  the  opposite  ex 
tremities  of  the  scale.  In  physical,  mental,  and  moral  traits, 
they  are  as  apart  from  each  other  as  the  poles,  and  except 
in  the  fact  of  the  possession  of  a  common  language,  no  two 
peoples  could  be  more  absolutely  distinct  and  antagonistic 
than  the  whites  and  the  negroes  in  this  country.  We  must, 
therefore,  consider  this  question  with  a  view  to  the  ultimate 
benefit  of  two  separate  and  individual  races,  each  entitled 
under  the  general  scheme  of  creation  to>a  fairly  equal  oppor 
tunity  to  develop  its  latent  possibilities. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  work,  the  present  inferiority  of 
the  negro  race  is  assumed  as  an  obvious  fact,  and  is  con- 
The  Negro  s^ered  a  matter  which,  needing  no  argumentative 
an  inferior  demonstration,  appeals  directly  to  the  judgment 
of  a  person  of  ordinary  intelligence  and  obser 
vation;  and  the  substantial  accuracy  of  this  assumption 
is  not  affected  by  the  existence  of  certain  exceptional  in 
dividuals  of  African  stock.  As  in  matters  of  jurisprudence 


io  The  Negro  Problem 

there  are  certain  things  in  the  community  so  well  known 
and  established  that  the  courts  will  take  judicial  notice  of 
their  existence,  so  at  this  time  in  the  prosecution  of  our 
inquiry,  it  would  be  a  waste  of  space  to  enter  upon  a 
discussion  of  the  manifest  inferiority  of  the  negro  race. 

Were  it  necessary  to  discuss  the  question  scientifically  or 
historically,  and  to  compile  statistics  showing  his  universal 
present  inferiority  in  all  relationships,  quotations  could  be 
introduced  from  the  works  of  distinguished  physicians  and 
ethnologists  classifying  the  negro  as  a  member  of  an  inferior 
race,  and  scientifically  attributing  to  him  certain  anatomical 
and  physiological  imperfections  which  will  permanently 
prevent  him  from  ever  attaining  a  position  as  the  equal  of 
the  white  man.  Such  carefully  selected  discriminations 
upon  the  subject  as  the  following  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Robert 
Bennett  Bean,  a  profound  student  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  negro,  might  be  quoted: 

The  frontal  region  of  the  Negro  skull  has  been  repeatedly 
shown  to  be  much  smaller  than  that  of  the  Caucasian.  Con 
sidering  this  fact,  the  conclusion  is  reached  that  the  Negro 
has  a  smaller  proportion  of  the  faculties  pertaining  to  the 
frontal  lobe  than  the  Caucasian.  The  Negro,  then,  lacks 
reason,  judgment,  apperception,  affection,  self-control,  will 
power,  orientation,  ethical  and  esthetic  attributes,  and  the 
relation  of  the  ego  (of  personality  or  self)  to  environment. 

Dr.  Bean  has  made  a  special  study  of  the  brain  of  the 
negro  in  its  comparative  relation  as  to  form  and  weight 
with  that  of  the  white  man.  He  draws  the  following  con 
clusions  from  his  exhaustive  researches: 

The  conclusion  is  that  the  brain  of  the  Negro  is  smaller 
than  the  brain  of  the  white,  the  stature  is  also  lower, 
and  the  body  weight  is  less,  and  any  crossing  of  the  two 
races  results  in  a  brain  weight  relative  to  the  proportion 
of  white  blood  in  the  individual. 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  1 1 

The  skull  capacity  of  the  Negro  has  been  repeatedly 
demonstrated  to  be  less  than  that  of  the  Caucasian. l 

But  to  what  end  is  it  necessary  to  marshal  facts,  discuss 
theories,  and  draw  conclusions  to  demonstrate  what  to 
the  average  observant  American  citizen  is  already  a  well 
established  proposition,  viz. — that  the  negro,  as  he  is  found 
to-day,  in  our  community,  is  in  all  respects  greatly  inferior 
to  the  white  man  with  whom  he  is  brought  into  relationship 
and  resulting  competition?  Self-evident  truths  require  no 
argumentative  demonstration.  If  there  be  those  who, 
after  observation  and  reflection,  are  not  to  be  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  the  foregoing  statement  as  to  existing  negro 
inferiority,  then  this  work  is  not  entitled  to  their  serious 
consideration. 

Furthermore,  it  is  not  proposed  to  go  into  the  reason 
upon  which  this  difference  of  present  position  is  based. 
Whether  it  be  natural,  inherent  inferiority,  never  by  any 
process  of  development  to  be  overcome,  or  merely,  as  some 
times  claimed,  the  fact  that  the  negro  is  a  backward  or  un 
developed  race,  some  generations  in  the  rear  of  the  white 
race  in  its  progress  towards  ideal  humanity,  the  practical 
result  is  the  same  for  the  purpose  of  the  offered  solution  of 
the  problem.  The  present  inferiority  is  the  fact  upon  which 
the  arguments  advanced  are  founded,  for  the  practical 
question  is  the  one  to  be  determined. 

Perchance  ten  thousand  years  from  now,  long  after 
Macaulay's  New  Zealander  has  finished  his  survey  of  the 
ruins  of  St.  Paul's  from  the  broken  towers  of  London  Bridge; 
when  the  civilization  of  Europe  shall  have  disappeared  as 
completely  as  that  of  the  Aztecs;  when  the  history  of  the 
United  States  shall  appear  as  remote  to  the  students  of 

1  Some  Racial  Peculiarities  of  the  Negro  Brain,  by  Robert 
Bennett  Bean,  University  of  Michigan,  vol.  v.,  No.  4.  Reprinted 
from  the  American  Journal  of  Anatomy,  Sept.  n,  1906. 


i2  The  Negro  Problem 

that  time  as  the  Egyptian  chronicles  of  the  dynasties  pre 
ceding  Rameses  II.  are  to  us;  it  may  be  that  somewhere  in 
equatorial  Africa,  or  in  tropical  South  America,  a  negroid 
empire  will  be  flourishing  in  power  and  prosperity,  enjoying 
the  possession  of  a  swarthy  civilization  of  its  own  develop 
ment,  far  surpassing  anything  theretofore  achieved  by  the 
human  race.  But  as  all  such  conceptions  are  but  the  merest 
speculation,  the  subject  of  this  exposition  must  be  regarded 
from  a  practical  standpoint,  and  not  treated  as  the  theme 
of  remote  conjecture;  and  all  further  discussion  in  this  book 
is  based  upon  the  patent,  obvious,  irrefragable  fact,  that  at 
this  time  and  in  this  country  and  in  relation  to  this  question, 
the  negro  race  is  unquestionably  inferior  to  the  white. 

The  third  characteristic  of  the  negro  which  has  contrib 
uted  to  produce  the  present  problem  is   his  absolute  un- 

with    the    Caucasian.     Men    and 


The  Negro 

Unassim-     women    of    differing    strains    of    blood,  —  Celtic, 

liable.  .   . 

Latin,  Magyar,  or   Semitic,  —  arriving   upon  our 

shores,  are  within  at  the  most  two  or  three  generations 
incorporated  into  the  body  of  the  people,  and  their  descend 
ants  quickly.  lose  all  distinctive  traits  of  their  origin.  Re 
ligious  predilections  may  in  form  persist,  but  such  offer  but 
slight  impediment  to  the  full  acquirement  of  the  typical 
American  character.  Immigrants  and  their  children  inter 
marry  freely  with  the  descendants  of  the  early  colonists 
and  with  each  other,  and  the  unfailing  result  is  the  early 
fusion  of  the  various  Caucasian  elements.  All  these  elements 
appear  to  be  susceptible  of  assimilation. 

Not  so  the  negro.  After  generations  of  close  contact  with 
the  Caucasian,  scarcely  the  slightest  tendency  in  that  di 
rection  is  apparent.  The  physical  repulsion  existing  be 
tween  the  races  prevents  intermarriage,  and  renders  illicit 
relations  infrequent  and  non-fruitful.  Even  in  the  event 
of  offspring  resulting  from  the  alliance  of  white  and  black, 


The  Character  of  the  Problem          13 

there  is,  strictly  speaking,  no  assimilation  of  races,  as  the 
progeny  is  in  all  respects  and  for  every  purpose  regarded 
as  a  member  of  the  negro  race. 

The  presence  of  some  1,500,000  mulattoes,  constituting 
about  one-seventh  of  the  negro  population,  has  caused  some 
scientific  alarmists  to  predict  the  most  direful  results  from 
an  asserted  tendency  towards  amalgamation.  The  subject 
will  receive  further  discussion  in  its  appropriate  connection. 
This  mulatto  element  has  for  generations  existed  in  much 
the  same  proportion  as  at  present,  and  when  we  reflect  that 
the  result  of  unions  between  mulattoes  themselves,  as  well 
as  those  between  mulattoes  and  full  blood  negroes  is  the 
addition  to  the  number  of  the  former  class,  we  can  find  in 
the  statistics  no  perceptible  approach  to  assimilation. 

A  striking  instance  of  the  strength  of  the  instinct  of  racial 
purity  may  be  found  in  the  conduct  of  that  numerous  and 
important  element  in  the  South  known  as  "poor  whites." 
Although  for  generations  brought  into  the  most  immediate 
contact  with  the  surrounding  black  population,  and  exposed 
to  every  species  of  temptation  to  lower  the  barrier  against 
negro  equality,  the  members  of  this  class  have  refused  to 
intermix  with  the  inferior  race,  and  under  present  circum 
stances  afford,  perhaps,  the  best  examples  of  unadulterated 
English  blood  to  be  found  in  the  world. 

Reasoning  a  priori,  we  find  the  non-assimilability  of  the 
negro  to  be  caused  by  the  intense  racial  antipathy  which  in 
all  times  and  under  all  circumstances  appears  to  have  ex 
isted  between  races  presenting  such  widely  differing  char 
acteristics  as  those  marking  the  distinction  between  the 
white  people  of  the  United  States  and  the  African  negro. 
The  former,  being  principally  of  North  European  origin, 
evince  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  any  admixture  of  their 
blood  with  a  people  which  both  reason  and  sentiment  concur 
in  regarding  as  inferior,  This  feeling  is  accentuated  by 


14  The  Negro  Problem 

the  fact  that  in  this  country  the  color  of  the  inferior  race  is 
associated  with  its  former  condition  of  degrading  servi 
tude,  and  fixes  upon  it  with  an  indelible  mark  the  status  of 
subordination. 

Scott  pictures  in  Ivanhoe  the  wretched  plight  of  the  Saxon 
thrall  during  the  years  following  the  Norman  conquest, 
when,  forced  to  wear  soldered  fast  around  his  neck  a  brass 
ring,  the  symbol  of  his  subjection  to  the  conqueror,  it  ap 
peared  that  his  subjugation  was  a  thing  of  permanent  es 
tablishment.  But  in  that  case  no  radical  difference  of  race 
existed,  intermarriages  followed,  sympathetic  relations  were 
soon  effected,  the  degrading  collar  was  quickly  removed,  and 
complete  assimilation  followed  between  the  conqueror  and 
conquered.  How  different  the  situation  of  the  negro.  No 
removal  of  his  pronounced  physical  dissimilarity  can  ever 
be  made  possible,  and  in  this  fact  lies  the  impossibility  of 
any  progress  towards  assimilation. 

Other  countries  have  to  some  extent  accepted  inter 
mixture  of  the  negro  with  the  white  as  a  solution  of  the 
problem,  but  the  results  accomplished  by  this  process  in 
Cuba,  Mexico,  and  South  America  are  scarcely  to  be  re 
garded  as  happy  illustrations  of  the  beneficial  effect  of  the 
commingling  of  alien  races.  Without  further  argument,  it  is 
in  like  manner  intended  to  proceed  upon  the  theory  that  the 
basic  and  unalterable  differences  existing  between  the  races 
will  continue,  and  must  constitute  a  perpetual  element  in 
the  consideration  of  the  problem. 

Having  thus  in  a  measure  considered  the  origin  of  the 
problem,  we  are  called  upon  to  state  in  what  its  main  aspects 
Definition  consist  at  the  present  time.  The  negro  problem 
of  the  is  difficult  of  definition;  so  much  depends  upon 

the  viewpoint  of  the  individual.  For  the  average 
Southerner  there  is  no  negro  problem  apart  from  the  utili 
zation  of  his  services  as  a  worker  and  the  necessity  of  "keep- 


The  Character  of  the  Problem          15 

ing  the  nigger  in  his  place."  The  average  Northerner 
expresses  slight  interest  in  the  matter,  contenting  himself 
with  saying,  "Let  the  South  work  it  out."  A  few  amiable 
philanthropists  in  our  Northern  cities  appear  to  regard 
the  problem  as  of  simple  character,  involving  merely  the 
question  of  providing  the  means  necessary  to  give  the  negro 
an  education. 

For  the  negro  himself,  with  few  exceptions,  the  problem, 
if  difficult,  is  not  complex,  consisting  merely  in  the  ascertain 
ment  of  some  easy  and  effective  method  of  asserting  and 
maintaining  his  equality  in  all  respects  with  the  white  man. 
The  exceptions  are  the  thinking  men  and  women  of  the 
race,  daily  growing  in  numbers  and  influence,  of  whom 
Booker  T.  Washington,  the  universally  respected  President 
of  Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  is  the  ablest 
representative  in  clarity  of  thought  and  elevation  of  purpose. 
His  definition  follows: 

The  problem  is  how  to  make  these  millions  of  negroes 
self-supporting,  intelligent,  economical  and  valuable 
citizens,  as  well  as  to  bring  about  the  proper  relations 
between  them  and  the  white  citizens  among  whom  they 
live. 

With  becoming  deference  to  those  who,  perhaps  better 
informed  than  the  writer,  have  sought  to  frame  a  definition 
of  this  complicated  problem,  it  is  submitted  that  the  ordinary 
presentation  of  the  question  is  lacking  in  precision  as  well 
as  in  comprehensiveness,  and  the  following  is  offered  as 
being  sufficiently  accurate  for  the  purpose: 

By  what  means  may  the  people  of  the  United  States,  with 
the  whites  and  negroes  in  effective  co-operation,  bring  about 
the  adoption  of  a  definite  policy  for  the  permanent  adjust 
ment  of  the  relations  of  the  respective  races  towards  each  other, 
so  that  each  may  enjoy  unrestricted  opportunity  for  develop- 


1 6  The  Negro  Problem 

ment;  and  upon  the  adoption  of  such  a  policy,  what  measures 
will  be  necessary  to  put  it  into  practical  operation  ? 

The  negro  has  never  in  a  true  sense  formed  a  component 
part  of  the  citizenship  of  this  nation.  He  has  always  been 
in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  in  the  position  of  a  ward,  re 
quiring  sympathy,  guidance,  and  control.  In  strict  accuracy, 
he  has  never  been  considered  a  fully  qualified  citizen  of  the 
country,  having  had  the  legal  right  to  national  citizenship 
only  for  the  past  forty  years,  and  never  having  possessed  the 
full  exercise  of  influential  citizenship  in  any  part  of  the  land. 
If  individuals  of  the  race  have  raised  themselves  above  the 
level  of  their  associates  and  commanded  attention,  their 
authority  has  been  confined  to  their  own  people,  and  in 
respect  to  exercising  any  beneficial  influence  upon  the  in 
tellectual  or  industrial  development  of  the  nation,  the 
achievements  of  the  negro  have  been  inconsiderable.  His 
undeveloped  character  has  been  the  great  bar  to  his  pro 
gress  to  prominence  and  power.  Comparatively  deficient  in 
intellectual  qualifications,  unstable  in  his  business  relations, 
notoriously  lacking  in  moral  training,  uncultivated  upon 
the  ethical  side  of  his  nature,  the  negro  has  remained,  in  the 
mass,  essentially  a  child,  a  subordinate,  and  to  this  day  is 
scarcely  appreciative  of  the  uncertainty  of  his  position  and 
of  his  lack  of  substantial  qualifications  for  citizenship. 

The  reason  the  negro  has  failed  to  achieve  a  higher  position 
is  superficially  considered  to  arise  from  the  fact  that  there 
Race  exists  against  him  what  is  called  "race  prejudice" 

Antipathy.  on  tjie  part  of  ^g  white,  which  closes  to  him  every 
avenue  of  opportunity.  The  employment  of  the  word 
"prejudice"  in  this  relation  is  singularly  inaccurate.  By 
derivation  and  established  meaning,  it  signifies  an  opinion 
formed  or  decision  made  without  due  examination;  a  pre- 
judgment  of  the  matter  involved.  Such  is  not  the  attitude 
of  the  Caucasian  towards  the  negro.  In  strict  accuracy 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  17 

we  may  say  that  in  the  United  States  there  exists  on  the 
part  of  the  white  people  a  strong  antipathy  against  the 
negro,  not  superficial  or  unreasonable  but  founded  upon 
the  instinct  for  racial  purity  dominating  the  superior  race. 

It  is  useless  to  deny  that  this  racial  antipathy  exists.  In 
fact,  it  is  so  universal  and  overwhelming  as  to  constitute 
an  insuperable  barrier  to  the  negro's  progress.  This  natural 
aversion  to  the  African  is  something  which  the  Creator  has 
implanted  so  firmly  in  the  breasts  of  the  white  men  and 
women  of  the  United  States  that  no  scheme  of  education, 
no  process  of  religious  training,  no  appeal  to  imagined 
higher  traits  of  character,  is  effectual  perceptibly  to  lessen 
its  force.  We  may  be  taught  in  our  churches  to  regard 
the  negro  as  a  brother  under  the  great  fatherhood  of  God,  j 
but  the  lesson  of  fraternity  proves  hopelessly  insufficient 
when  brought  to  the  test  of  every  day  conditions  of  life. 

This  pronounced  repulsion  of  the  white  toward  the  negro 
is  a  thing  not  to  be  ignored.  It  must  be  taken  into  account 
in  every  discussion  of  the  prospect  of  the  amelioration  of 
the  condition  of  the  negro  race.  It  is  founded  upon  such 
fundamental,  primitive  instincts  that  its  eradication  is  ab 
solutely  impossible.  As  a  result  of  this  overpowering  race 
antipathy,  the  negro  is  unable  even  to  secure  an  opportunity 
for  his  development. 

Nor  does  this  feeling  of  repulsion  exist  solely  upon  the 
part  of  the  white  race.  In  a  measure  it  is  quite  as  keen 
and  active  with  the  negro,  displaying  itself  in  a  different 
aspect.  Under  the  usual  apparent  submissiveness  and 
deference  of  the  negro,  more  especially  in  the  mulatto  in 
dividual,  is  to  be  found  a  sullen,  malignant  hatred  of  the 
superior  race,  easily  inflamed  and  jealously  quickening 
into  life  under  slight  provocation.  This  is  but  the  natural 
result  of  centuries  of  scornful  treatment,  industrial  oppression, 
and  constant  assertion  of  race  superiority. 


1 8  The  Negro  Problem 

Is  the  negro  forever  to  endure  insult  and  outrage  in  the 
South,  contempt  and  humiliation  in  the  North  ?  Cannot  At 
lanta  shootings,  Springfield  hangings,  Indiana  banishments, 
Texas  conflagrations,  and  New  England  scornful  isolation 
stir  his  sluggish  blood?  May  he  not,  at  least,  have  the 
privilege  of  saying  to  the  white  man  what  the  outraged 
Shylock  says  facing  his  Christian  persecutors? — 

Hath  not  a  Jew  eyes?  Hath  not  a  Jew  hands,  organs, 
dimensions,  senses,  affections,  passions?  Fed  with  the 
same  food,  hurt  with  the  same  weapons,  subject  to  the 
same  diseases,  healed  by  the  same  means,  warmed  and 
cooled  by  the  same  winter  and  summer,  as  a  Christian  is? 
If  you  prick  us,  do  we  not  bleed?  If  you  tickle  us,  do  we 
not  laugh?  If  you  poison  us,  do  we  not  die?  And  if  you 
wrong  us,  shall  we  not  revenge?  If  we  are  like  you  in  the 
rest,  we  will  resemble  you  in  that.  If  a  Jew  wrong  a  Christian 
what  is  his  humility?  Revenge.  If  a  Christian  wrong  a 
Jew,  what  should  his  sufferance  be  by  Christian  example? 
Why,  revenge.  The  villany  you  teach  me,  I  will  execute, 
and  it  shall  go  hard  but  I  will  better  the  instruction. 

The  imminency  of  the  negro  problem  lies  in  the  clash  of 
the  democratic  theory  of  government  with  the  presence  of 
an  inferior  and  practically  a  subject  race,  and  unless  we  are 
prepared  to  avoid  a  succession  of  Brownsville  incidents 
by  establishing  a  system  of  permanent  caste,  iron  in  its 
inflexibility  and  designed  rigidly  and  forever  to  confine 
the  negro  to  an  inferior  position,  we  must  find  some  means 
to  remedy  the  existing  condition  of  racial  discord. 

The  aspiration  of  the  negro  race  is  for  equality,  and  in  a 
land  where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is  yet  held  in 
The  Negro's  some  reverence,  and  where  elaborate  constitu- 
Demandfor  tional  provisions  assure  its  members  protection, 
the  opportunity  for  equality  cannot  safely  be 
denied  the  humblest  member  of  the  race. 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  19 

Now,  equality  means  simply  equality;  it  is  subject  to  no 
qualification,  permits  no  limitations,  brooks  no  denial,  will 
undergo  no  abridgment.  Less  than  the  most  absolute 
equality  is  no  equality  whatever.  In  a  democracy  there  is 
no  room  for  a  class  based  upon  unchangeable  physical 
characteristics  and  doomed  to  permanent  inferiority  in  any 
relation  of  life.  To  realize  his  yearning,  to  establish  his 
equality,  and  to  command  equal  opportunities,  the  negro 
must  be  granted:  (i)  Industrial  equality.  (2)  Business 
equality.  (3)  Political  equality.  (4)  Social  equality.  (5) 
Matrimonial  equality. 

Each  and  every  one  of  the  foregoing  is  equally  essential; 
debar  the  negro  from  one,  you  debar  him  from  all;  impose 
upon  him  as  a  race  any  restriction  and  equality  ceases  to 
exist. 

To  live  in  comfort  amidst  decent  surroundings,  to  enjoy 
the  respect  of  his  family,  his  neighbors,  and  employers,  the 
Industrial  negro  must  be  allowed  the  opportunity  of  work- 
Equality.  mg  m  j-ne  same  occupations  and  upon  the  same 
terms  and  conditions  as  the  white  man.  He  must  be  sub 
jected  to  no  discrimination  based  on  factitious  reasons,  and 
must  be  freely  admitted  to  association  with  his  fellow- 
laborers  and  to  participation  in  the  benefits  of  the  great 
principle  of  equality  underlying  the  labor  organizations, 
so  potential  in  advancing  the  condition  of  those  engaged 
in  manual  occupations. 

The  necessary  and,  indeed,  unfailing  consequence  of 
equality  in  industrial  occupations  is  the  opportunity  for 
Business  advancement  to  equality  of  business  position 
Equality.  ancj  influence.  Unless  the  negro  workman  may 
aspire  to  the  position  of  foreman,  unless  the  negro  foreman 
may  himself  become  employer,  unless  the  negro  clerk  may 
be  promoted  to  partnership,  there  can  be  no  such  thing 
as  business  equality.  If  the  black  man  is  not  to  be  allowed 


20  The  Negro  Problem 

to  compete  in  all  respects  on  equal  footing  with  his  white 
competitor,  he  will  find  himself  hopelessly  handicapped 
in  the  struggle  for  business  success. 

Without  political  equality  all  other  is  a  mockery  and  delu 
sion.  Unless  the  negro  citizen  may  be  assured  of  free  access 
Political  to  tne  P0HS  and  m  perfect  equality  may  enter 
Equality.  fae  jury  b^.  uniess  he  be  recognized  as  in  every 
respect  the  political  equal  of  every  other  citizen,  and  sub 
jected  to  no  species  of  discrimination;  unless  he  be  given 
the  opportunity  to  render  honorable  service  as  an  official 
in  any  community  in  which  his  race  chances  to  constitute 
a  majority;  all  other  equality  is  delusory.  Without  political 
equality  there  can  be  no  industrial  or  business  equality, 
and  unless  we  are  prepared  distinctly  to  repudiate  the  time- 
honored  principle  of  no  taxation  without  representation, 
there  can  be  no  denial  to  the  black  man,  North  or  South, 
of  his  privilege  to  participate  at  elections  and  to  sit  upon 
the  jury  panel,  in  every  respect  in  equal  association  with 
the  members  of  the  superior  race. 

We  now  approach  the  consideration  of  an  element  in  the 
question  of  equality  which  many  uninformed  writers  on  the 
Social  negro  problem  affect  to  consider  as  separate  and 
Equality,  distinct  from  those  just  covered  by  our  discussion. 
There  appears  to  be  a  belief  in  some  quarters  that  indus 
trial,  business,  and  even  political  equality  may  exist  without 
involving  the  concession  of  social  equality.  Such  a  thing 
is  impossible.  As  remarked  at  the  opening  of  the  discussion 
of  this  phase  of  the  subject,  if  equality  exists  at  all,  it  must 
be  absolute  and  unconditional.  Unless  there  is  to  be  the 
most  emphatic  recognition  of  the  social  equality  of  the 
members  of  the  two  races,  it  is  impossible  to  maintain  that 
either  one  or  the  other  will  not  be  compelled  to  accept  in 
ferior  business  advantages,  and  there  can  be  but  little  question 
in  such  case  as  to  which  race  will  be  the  sufferer. 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  21 

The  negro  understands  this.  Even  the  "Jim  Crow" 
laws  enacted  to  establish  his  inferior  social  status,  and  which 
will  later  receive  some  consideration,  in  form  provide  equal 
accommodations  for  both  races,  but  the  negro  well  knows 
that,  in  point  of  fact,  the  discrimination  is  entirely  against 
him.  Unless,  untrammelled  by  racial  qualities,  the  in 
dividual  is  entitled  to  be  respected  as  a  social  equal  on  his 
own  merits,  no  business  success  or  accumulation  of  wealth, 
nor  even  the  possession  of  political  power,  can  make  him 
other  than  an  inferior.  If  the  man  with  whom  I  transact 
business  is  deemed  unworthy  to  accept  social  courtesies  at 
my  hands,  I  proclaim  him  to  be  my  inferior,  and  any  theory 
upon  which  it  is  assumed  that  in  this  country  the  Caucasian 
and  negro  can  meet  upon  a  plane  of  equality  in  the  shop, 
the  market  place,  or  the  political  caucus,  and  yet  hold  them 
selves  aloof  in  all  social  relations,  is  thoroughly  fallacious. 

Occasion  will  be  taken  as  the  argument  develops  to  em 
phasize  the  fact  that  in  the  existing  situation  as  to  social 
customs,  the  negro,  North  and  South,  is  denied  the  privi 
lege  of  associating  freely  and  on  a  footing  of  equality  with 
other  citizens.  In  the  words  of  Kelly  Miller,  one  of  the 
foremost  writers  of  the  race,— 

Here  are  two  peoples  domiciled  in  the  same  territory, 
invested  with  equal  civil  and  political  rights,  speaking  the 
same  language,  loyal  to  the  same  institutions,  worship 
ping  God  after  the  same  ritual,  and  linked  together  in  a 
common  destiny;  and  yet  in  all  purely  personal  and 
pleasurable  intercourse  they  are  as  far  apart  as  if  separated 
by  interstellar  space. 

Accepting  this  rigorous  denial  to  the  negro  of  social  equality 
as  a  present  and  continuing  factor  of  the  problem,  we  can 
see  how  in  its  inexorable  result  it  operates  to  deprive  him 
of  his  political  and  civil  rights  as  well  as  to  restrict  his  edu- 


22  The  Negro  Problem 

cational  and  industrial  opportunities.  We  are,  therefore, 
brought  face  to  face  at  this  stage  of  the  inquiry  with  this 
final  question: — Upon  what  reasonable  foundation  does 
this  refusal  to  accord  to  the  negro  the  much  desired  privilege 
of  social  affiliations  rest,  and  is  it  likely  to  remain  an  enduring 
element  in  our  future  attitude  towards  that  race? 

The  answer  is  simple, — the  rejection  of  all  claim  on  the 
part  of  the  negro  to  mingle  with  the  white  race  on  a  plane 
Matrimo-  °^  soc^a^  equality  is  based  on  the  perception  of 
nial  the  superior  race  that  to  permit  such  a  custom 

would  inevitably  lead  to  the  debasement  of  the 
Caucasian  blood.  The  instinct  of  race  purity,  implanted 
especially  in  the  women  of  the  superior  race,  impels  the 
most  strenuous  opposition  to  all  attempts  to  establish  a 
condition  of  matrimonial  equality  between  the  races.  Yet 
such  a  condition  would  necessarily  follow  from  permitting 
social  equality. 

It  is  idle  to  assert,  as  is  frequently  done  by  negro  essayists 
upon  the  subject,  that  the  two  races  could  establish  intimate 
social  relations,  commingling  freely  in  all  walks  of  life,  with 
out  bringing  about  a  general  condition  of  miscegenation. 
White  men,  and  particularly  white  women,  know  that  to 
admit  negroes  to  the  intimacies  of  family  life,  to  welcome 
them  to  the  table  and  the  drawing-room,  to  associate  with 
them  at  the  church  and  theatre,  to  join  with  them  in  the 
dance  and  in  the  thousand  and  one  different  ways  in  which 
young  people  find  enjoyment  and  recreation,  would  be 
possible  only  upon  the  assumption  of  the  eligibility  of  the 
race  to  join  in  matrimony  with  the  Caucasian. 

Against  such  a  possibility  the  strongest  instincts  of  the 
more  refined  and  progressive  race  protest.  Its  members 
appreciate  the  full  force  of  the  danger  of  race  deterioration 
following  any  intermixture  of  African  blood,  and  in  the  most 
emphatic  terms  forbid  the  suggestion  of  matrimonial  equality. 


UNIVERSITY 

V  <»  J 

•'S£AUFORN\iX^ 

The  Character  of  the  Problem  23 

A  striking  illustration  of  this  feeling  was  afforded  in  the 
recent  acrimonious  debate  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
upon  the  proposition  to  establish  separate  accommodations 
for  the  two  races  in  the  street  cars  of  Washington.  Pressed 
by  embarrassing  questions,  and  carried  away  by  oratorical 
fervor,  the  gentleman  from  Kansas  (Mr.  Campbell)  pro 
fessed  to  believe  in  the  association  of  whites  and  negroes 
in  school  and  church.  When,  however,  he  was  called  upon 
to  announce  his  belief  in  the  propriety  of  marriage  between 
the  races,  the  instinct  of  the  Caucasian  blood  asserted  itself, 
and  to  the  applause  of  both  sides  of  the  House  he  declared 
with  impressive  emphasis  that  such  unions  were  impossible. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  prolonged  discussion  upon 
this  point.  The  repugnance  of  racial  feeling,  based  upon 
the  opposite  characters  of  white  and  negro,  will  insure,  in  the 
future,  even  more  rigidly  than  in  the  past,  the  denial  to  the 
negro  of  matrimonial  equality.  And  failing  in  this,  as  our 
reasoning  demonstrates,  he  can  achieve  no  equality  what 
ever.  Forbidden  matrimonial  equality,  he  cannot  attain 
social  privileges.  Denied  social  equality,  his  political 
status  becomes  that  of  an  inferior.  Refused  political  equality, 
his  progress  in  business  is  hampered,  his  education  retarded, 
and  his  industrial  subordination  assured.  In  fine,  so  long 
as  his  ethnic  traits  remain  as  they  are,  his  position  in  this 
country  must  continue  to  be  one  of  recognized  inferiority. 

What  has  heretofore  been  said  in  relation  to  the  character 
of  the  problem  may  perhaps  appear  to  some  readers  un 
necessary,  as  many  of  the  propositions  discussed  are  ele 
mentary  and  probably  familiar  to  those  who  have  read  much 
of  our  current  literature  upon  the  subject.  But  in  order 
that  the  proposed  remedy  for  the  evil  might  be  properly 
presented,  it  has  seemed  necessary  to  devote  the  foregoing 
pages  to  the  examination  of  the  nature  of  the  question  and 
a  brief  description  of  the  principles  underlying  the  situation. 


24  The  Negro  Problem 

History  affords  us  no  precedents  to  aid  in  the  solution 
of  this  problem.  Our  democratic  theory  of  government, 
predicated  upon  the  absolute  equality  of  all 
dents  for  participants,  an  equality  limited  by  no  restric- 
tions  of  race,  religion,  wealth,  or  hereditary 
standing,  forbids  the  solution  which  in  times  of 
antiquity  would  have  been  of  easy  adoption,  and  which, 
even  in  our  day.  other  nations,  basing  their  powers  of  govern 
ment  upon  different  principles,  could  consistently  apply. 

In  his  recent  work  on  Greater  America,  Archibald  R. 
Colquhoun,  a  distinguished  English  student  of  race  prob 
lems,  after  discussing  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the 
negro  question  in  the  United  States,  has  this  suggestion 
to  make: 

If  the  American  would  acknowledge  freely  and  honestly 
the  breakdown  of  the  democratic  system,  would  accept 
his  position  as  the  dominant  factor  in  a  great  republican 
empire,  would  cease  to  endeavor  to  square  his  theory 
with  his  practice,  he  might  still  advance  along  the  paths 
of  progress,  might  achieve  the  freest  and  most  liberal 
form  of  government,  but  would  still  not  be  debarred  from 
dealing  justly  with  alien  and  subject  races. 

We  cannot  look  back  for  guidance  to  the  states  of  antiquity, 
where  might  alone  ruled  and  slavery  was  the  common  con 
dition  of  all  inferior  races.  Greece  developed  a  citizenship 
of  the  highest  order,  based  upon  the  foundation  of  human 
slavery,  and  Roman  citizenship  was  extended  only  to  the 
few  favored  dwellers  upon  the  Italian  peninsula.  No 
theory  of  human  brotherhood  existed  to  embarrass  these 
conquering  peoples  in  their  treatment  of  the  unfortunate 
nations  whom  they  subjugated.  When  later  the  clash  of 
contending  races  came  between  the  Christians  and  Moors 
in  Spain,  it  was  solved,  as  all  such  problems  of  old  were 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  2  5 

solved,  by  the  truculent  processes  of  extermination  and 
exile. 

But  better  conditions  now  prevail  in  Europe,  and  in  our 
time  we  have  little  Belgium,  where  the  Celtic  Walloon  faces 
the  Teutonic  Fleming  across  a  line  of  sharp  demarcation 
in  race,  language,  and  religion,  yet  preserving  harmony  and 
prosperity  through  their  relationship.  In  Switzerland  three 
distinct  races, — French,  German,  and  Italian, — strongly 
differing  in  religion,  language,  and  physical  characteristics, 
intermingle  in  substantial  accord  in  carrying  on  the  work 
of  this  progressive  and  contented  commonwealth.  Austria, 
containing  a  dozen  jarring  racial  elements,  contrives  to 
preserve  a  semblance  of  consistent  government  among  them, 
founded  in  large  part  upon  an  equality  of  influence  pro 
portionate  to  population. 

Some  remote  analogy  between  our  problem  and  the 
relations  of  England  and  Ireland  might  be  established,  but 
certainly  no  contemplated  solution  of  the  Irish  problem 
can  be  considered  as  offering  to  this  country  a  precedent  for 
treatment  of  the  black  man.  England  finds  little  or  no 
difficulty  in  controlling  the  numerous  subject  races  scattered 
throughout  her  broad  dominion,  although  at  the  present 
moment  a  difficulty  quite  akin  to  ours  appears  to  be  looming 
up  in  South  Africa,  where  the  black  man  is  called  upon  to 
work  or  disappear  before  the  wave  of  advancing  civiliza 
tion,  and  the  unrest  of  her  Hindoo  subjects  is  fast  becoming 
a  matter  of  serious  concern.  But  that  country  has  no  fine 
spun  theories  upon  the  philosophic  problems  of  human 
rights,  no  great  declaration  which,  proclaiming  the  equality 
of  all  mankind,  hampers  her  in  her  practical  administration 
of  affairs,  and  she  has  no  subject  race  intermingling  with 
her  people  upon  the  sacred  soil  of  Old  England. 

So  that,  look  around  as  we  may,  we  find  no  other  nation 
facing  a  situation  bearing  resemblance  to  our  present  dim- 


26  The  Negro  Problem 

culty,  and  no  problem  of  like  quality  and  magnitude  which 
has  received  solution  in  the  past  upon  lines  which  we  could 
adopt  consistently  with  the  high  character  of  our  Christian 
civilization. 

Are  we  then  to  abandon  hope?  By  no  means.  As  the 
gravity  of  this  novel  and  most  baneful  of  problems  dis 
closes  itself,  so  much  the  greater  in  proportion  must  be  the 
earnestness  of  our  attempt  to  bring  it  to  practical  solution. 

To  this  end,  we  must  first  consider  to  whom  does  this 
problem,  in  the  solution  of  which  we  are  about  to  engage, 
belong.  The  common  practice  is  to  dispose 
Does  th°em  of  the  subject  offhand  by  saying,  "It  is  the 
Problem  of  the  South,— let  them  work  it  out 
down  there."  And  Southern  students  and  states 
men  are  apt  to  regard  it  as  something  of  an  intrusion  into 
their  affairs  for  one  of  the  North  even  to  suggest  that  their 
section  should  not  be  entrusted  with  the  final  application 
of  remedies  for  the  evil,  and  that  the  trouble  is  of  national 
proportions. 

Thomas  Nelson  Page,  who  has  written  much,  and,  with 
some  qualifications,  wisely,  upon  the  subject,  defines  the 
problem  as  that  of  the  Southerner,  upon  the  theory  that  as 
the  great  majority  of  negroes  are  congregated  in  the  former 
slave  states,  of  necessity  the  problem  must  be  worked  out 
in  that  region,  and  the  solution  of  the  South  accepted  by  the 
nation.  In  this  he  represents  the  general  sentiment  of  his 
section,  which  is  inclined  to  consider  any  discussion  by  even 
well  informed  and  kindly  intentioned  Northerners  as  an 
interference  with  its  domestic  affairs. 

But  this  view  can  immediately  be  seen  to  be  superficial, 
as  the  evil  is  one  which  affects  every  section  of  the  country, 
and  any  measure  in  relation  to  it  taken  by  Mississippi  has 
an  instant  moral  and  political  effect  upon  the  entire  North. 
It  will  not  answer  in  this  enlightened  period  to  say  that  the 


The  Character  of  the  Problem  27 

South  has  solved  the  problem  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to 
itself.  The  brain  and  conscience  of  the  nation  must  be 
enlisted  in  the  duty  of  finding  the  best  solution. 

The  North,  therefore,  is  doubly  concerned  in  the  solution 
of  the  problem,  quite  as  much  because  it  bears  its  full  share 
of  the  responsibility  for  the  existence  of  the  negro  in  the 
South  as  because  any  adjustment  of  the  difficulty  must  be 
carried  out  with  the  aid  and  liberal  assistance  of  the  former 
section.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  North  undertook  to 
establish  the  status  of  the  negro,  to  regulate  his  relationships, 
social  and  political,  with  the  whites  of  the  South,  and  the 
influence  of  the  measures  adopted  during  the  reconstruc 
tion  era  has  brought  about  the  present  condition;  so  that 
both  for  reasons  founded  on  the  past  and  looking  to  the 
future,  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  quite  as  much  the  duty 
of  New  England,  New  York,  and  the  West,  as  it  is  that  of 
the  former  slave-holding  states. 

Accepting  the  truth  of  this  proposition,  we  reach  the 
conclusion  that  the  problem  is  one  for  the  nation  as  a  whole 
to  solve.  No  section  can  be  exonerated  from  sharing  the 
burden  of  the  obligation.  The  North  does  not  constitute 
the  nation  any  more  than  the  South,  the  East  stands  in  the 
same  relation  to  the  question  as  the  West.  All  sections 
are  concerned  alike  in  the  performance  of  the  stupendous 
task  of  finding  a  remedy  for  the  evil,  and  to  the  reason,  con 
science,  energy,  intelligence,  and  high  devotion  to  duty  of 
the  ninety  million  of  American  citizens,  conjointly  and  co 
operatively,  must  be  entrusted  this  momentous  undertaking. 

But  after  all  has  been  done  that  may  be  done,  and  all 
has  been  said  that  may  be  said,  ultimately  and  in  the  larger 
sense,  the  problem  is  that  of  the  negro  himself.  His  race 
is  not  only  the  one  most  intimately  concerned  in  its  dispo 
sition,  but,  in  the  last  analysis,  it  is  the  only  one  that  can 
effect  a  complete  and  honorable  solution. 


28  The  Negro  Problem 

In  the  individual  life  each  separate  soul  must,  by  unaided 
toil,  in  loneliness  of  spirit,  in  hours  of  labor,  in  striving  and 
ofttimes  disheartenment,  develop  the  valuable  qualities  with 
which  it  has  been  endowed  by  its  Creator.  So  the  great 
master-races  of  the  world  —  Greeks,  Romans,  Germans, 
French,  and  English — have  each  in  its  own  time,  and  in  its 
own  manner,  carried  forward  the  progressive  civilization 
of  the  world  by  doing  the  creative  work  of  its  own  develop 
ment.  If  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  individual  life 
be  the  development  of  character,  and  this  perfected  alone 
by  love,  labor,  self-reliance,  and  chastisement  of  spirit,  then 
the  great  racial  problem  now  under  discussion  can  only 
be  solved  by  the  exercise  on  the  part  of  the  negro  himself 
of  some  of  the  highest  and  most  resplendent  qualities  of 
which  human  nature  is  capable. 

This,  then,  is  the  task  of  the  negro,  and  it  is  only  by  his 
resolute  determination  to  spare  himself  no  toil,  to  shrink  from 
no  labor  and  no  sacrifice,  to  face  all  perils  and  hardships,  in 
order  to  achieve  for  his  race  a  position  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  that  the  solution  of  the  problem  may  be  realized. 
The  world  may  look  on,  hope  and  sympathize,  and  to  a 
limited  degree  assist,  but  unless  the  negro  population  of 
this  country  arises  to  the  proper  perception  of  the  gravity 
of  the  situation,  and  grasps  the  present  opportunity  to 
establish  itself  in  an  independent  position,  no  matter  what 
other  outcome  of  the  problem  here  discussed  may  result, 
the  WOY&  failure  will  be  inscribed  upon  the  record  of  the 
ages  against  the  name  of  the  African  race. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

But  our  deeds  are  like  children  that  are  born  to  us;  they  live  and 
act  apart  from  our  own  will.  Nay,  children  may  be  strangled, 
but  deeds  never.  They  have  an  indestructible  life,  both  in 
and  out  of  our  consciousness. — GEORGE  ELIOT. 

T  N  order  fully  to  comprehend  the  gravity  of  the  situation  and 
1  to  understand  the  present  condition  and  prospects  of  the 
negro  race  in  this  country,  a  brief  examination  of  the  his 
torical  aspects  of  the  problem  and  a  review  of  the  salient 
facts  of  the  connection  of  the  negro  with  the  white  popula 
tion  will  be  necessary.  For  nearly  three  centuries  the  history 
and  development  of  the  negro  in  this  country  have  been 
so  closely  identified  with  those  of  the  superior  race  that  no 
thorough  understanding  of  his  present  circumstances,  North 
and  South,  can  be  reached  without  some  comprehension  of 
the  beginning  and  development  of  the  problem. 

It  forms  no  part  of  the  plan  of  this  work  to  present  a  de 
tailed  history  of  the  negro  race  in  the  United  States.  Able 
pens  have  given  the  subject  careful  attention.  To  those 
who  desire  to  pursue  this  topic  in  detail  both  races  have 
supplied  historical  works  to  aid  the  investigation.  For  a 
broad-minded,  philosophic  discussion  of  the  historical 
aspects  of  the  subject,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  recent 
work  of  George  S.  Merriam,  Esq.,  of  Springfield,  Massa 
chusetts,  entitled,  The  Negro  and  the  Nation,  a  History 
of  Slavery  and  Enfranchisement.  This  volume  leaves  little 

29 


30  The  Negro  Problem 

to  be  added  as  a  scholarly  and  sympathetic  study  of  the 
connection  of  the  two  races  in  our  history. 

Recurring  to  the  earliest  recorded  annals  of  the  human 
race,  the  negro  is  found  invariably  occupied  in  some  menial 
capacity, — always  a  personal  attendant  or  a  burden-bearing 
slave.  We  are  not  called  upon  here  to  adopt  or  refute  the 
scriptural  theory  of  the  curse  of  Noah  resting  upon  Ham 
and  his  descendants,  condemning  them  to  perpetual  slavery. 
It  is  enough  for  our  purpose  to  record  this  fact  of  uniform 
social  and  political  abasement  without  seeking  the  cause. 
Throughout  all  history,  in  song  and  story,  in  biblical  narra 
tive  and  in  the  pages  of  the  dramatists,  the  negro  at  all 
times  and  in  all  places  has  been  depicted  as  a  being  of  sub 
ordinate  capacity,  a  subject  and  dependent  race.  In  his 
own  country  the  centuries  have  rolled  away,  finding  him 
always  in  the  same  condition  of  dense  ignorance  and  un- 
alleviated  savagery,  and  there  to  a  large  degree  he  remains 
to  this  day,  without  apparent  prospect  of  amelioration. 

I  quote  from  Thomas  Dixon,  Jr.,  the  following  expressive 
words,  which  without  exaggeration  adequately  portray  the 
record  of  this  non-progressive  race : 

The  negro  has  held  the  continent  of  Africa  since  the 
dawn  of  history,  crunching  acres  of  diamonds  beneath 
his  feet.  Yet  he  never  picked  one  up  from  the  dust  until 
a  white  man  showed  him  its  light.  His  land  swarmed 
with  powerful  and  docile  animals,  yet  he  never  built  a 
harness,  cart  or  sled.  A  hunter  by  necessity,  he  never 
made  an  axe,  spear  or  arrowhead  worth  preserving  beyond 
the  moment  of  its  use.  In  a  land  of  stone  and  timber, 
he  never  carved  a  block,  sawed  a  foot  of  lumber  or  built 
a  house  save  of  broken  sticks  and  mud,  and  for  four  thou 
sand  years  he  gazed  upon  the  sea,  yet  never  dreamed 
of  a  sail. 

Originally  a  savage  when  the  white  man  was  well  ad- 


The  History  of  the  Problem  31 

vanced  in  the  path  of  progress;  forcibly  abducted  from  the 
barbarism  of  his  native  jungle  and  brought  to  this  country 
by  the  slave-trader;  incapable  of  speaking  the  language  or 
understanding  the  institutions  of  the  land  of  his  captivity; 
limited  in  his  capacity  and  yet  more  limited  in  his  oppor 
tunity,  the  negro's  condition  in  the  United  States  from  the 
beginning  to  the  present  has  been  that  of  an  unfortunate 
dependent. 

In  the  year  1619  we  find  the  first  mention  of  the  negro 
as  an  element  in  our  colonial  history.  At  that  time  there 

were    introduced    into    Virginia   as   a   profitable 
The  Negro  ,.  ,   ,.         r  ,  , 

in    the         trading   speculation   fourteen   negro   slaves,   and 

Colonial       wjt]1  j-nejr  COming   the   negro  problem   may  be 
said  to  have  had  its  origin.     To  the  ship  which 
transported  this  unfortunate  human  freight  may  well  be 
applied  the  words  of  the  poet  Milton: 

That  fatal,  that  perfidious  bark, 

Built  i'  the  eclipse,  and  rigged  with  curses  dark. 

Following  this  importation  the  history  of  the  negro  popu 
lation  of  Virginia  is  that  of  a  slow  but  steady  numerical 
growth.  Contemned  by  the  spirit  of  caste  and  oppressed 
by  the  harshest  laws,  they  were  held  in  the  vice-like  grip  of 
slavery,  but  as  a  result  of  natural  increase  in  numbers  and 
as  a  consequence  of  profitable  employment,  resulting  in  the 
importation  of  thousands  of  others,  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  there  were  upward  of  two  hundred 
thousand  negroes  within  the  colony  of  Virginia.  While  a 
few  were  classified  as  free  negroes,  the  great  majority  were 
in  a  state  of  abject  slavery.  The  history  of  the  Virginian 
colony  in  this  respect  is  typical  of  that  of  the  other  colonies 
of  the  South,  and  to  some  extent  of  those  of  the  Northern 
section  of  the  country. 

In  New  York  in  the  early  days  of  settlement  under  the 


32  The  Negro  Problem 

Dutch  colonial  government  negro  slaves  abounded,  and 
after  the  acquisition  of  the  province  by  the  English  govern 
ment  the  slave-trade  became  very  active.  By  the  year  1741, 
negroes  were  so  numerous  in  the  colony,  especially  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  as  to  create  the  gravest  apprehension 
for  the  safety  of  the  white  inhabitants.  In  that  year  panic- 
stricken  colonists  discovered  what  ignorance  and  racial 
animosity  magnified  into  a  negro  plot  by  which  it  was  be 
lieved  that  the  slaves  in  the  City  of  New  York  intended  to 
rise  against  their  masters,  slaughter  the  white  population, 
and  to  establish  for  themselves  a  government  dominated 
by  negroes.  Hundreds  of  blacks,  poor  ignorant  wretches, 
principally  servants  and  others  employed  in  the  most  menial 
capacities,  unschooled  even  in  the  language  of  the  country, 
and  unfamiliar  with  its  institutions,  were  arrested  and  cast 
into  prison.  As  a  result  of  this  groundless  panic,  eighteen 
negroes  were  hanged,  fourteen  burned  at  the  stake,  seventy- 
one  transported,  and  many  others  subjected  to  minor  but 
cruel  punishment. 

It  would  appear  that  punitive  measures  to  keep  the  negro 
in  his  place  were  early  invoked  in  this  country.  The  whole 
story  of  this  alleged  plot  seems  like  a  monstrous  nightmare, 
and  yet  it  is  a  forcible  illustration  of  that  all-pervading  fear 
which  will  deprive  a  community  of  all  common-sense  when 
the  apprehension  of  the  domination  of  an  inferior  race  gains 
possession  of  the  minds  of  the  people. 

At  the  time  of  the  Revolution  there  were  twenty-six  thou 
sand  negroes  in  the  colony  of  New  York,  a  much  larger 
proportion  to  the  white  population  than  exists  at  the  present 
time. 

New  England  also  was  subjected  to  the  reproach  of  negro 
slavery,  negroes  being  numerous  in  every  one  of  the  four 
New  England  colonies  then  forming  that  section,  while  the 
transportation  of  human  freight  from  the  African  west  coast 


The  History  of  the  Problem  33 

to  the  Southern  colonies  for  the  purpose  of  slavery  furnished 
a  profitable  industry  for  New  England  ship-owners.  Harsh 
and  repressive  laws  were  adopted  in  all  the  Eastern  colonies, 
subjecting  the  unfortunate  negroes  to  severe  penalties  for 
the  slightest  acts  of  insubordination,  and  while  some  few 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  acquire  their  freedom,  the  great  mass 
were  held  in  the  condition  of  slavery  so  universal  for  that 
race  at  that  time.  The  census  for  1790  shows  the  presence 
of  seventeen  thousand  negroes  in  the  New  England  states, 
nearly  all  of  them  held  as  slaves,  and  distributed  mainly 
among  the  important  seacoast  cities. 

The  general  facts  here  stated  are  indicative  of  the  con 
dition  of  affairs  in  the  other  American  colonies.  North  and 
South,  the  negroes  in  colonial  times  were  subjected  to  the 
most  rigorous  control;  they  were  scarcely  regarded  as  pos 
sessed  of  ordinary  human  rights,  and  indeed  at  that  period 
the  view  entertained  of  the  hapless  negro  by  members  of  the 
dominant  race  fully  justified  the  statement  of  Chief  Justice 
Taney  in  his  oft-quoted  opinion  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  that 
at  that  period  the  negro  was  considered  "as  a  person  who 
had  no  rights  which  a  white  man  was  bound  to  respect." 

The  number  of  negroes,  slave  and  free,  in  the  United 
States,  as  shown  by  the  census  of  1790,  was  757,208,  con 
trasted  with  the  white  population  of  3,172,006;  the  negroes 
forming  approximately  nineteen  per  cent,  of  the  population. 

With  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War  a  marked 
change  of  attitude  towards  the  negro  in  the  Northern  colonies 
The  Revolu-  mav  be  detected.  The  first  patriotic  blood  to 
tionaryWar.  moisten  the  streets  of  Boston  was  that  of  Crispus 
Attucks,  the  runaway  negro  slave,  who  on  March  5,  1770, 
led  the  attack  of  the  patriotic  rioters  upon  the  English 
soldiery  and  with  other  Massachusetts  men  went  down  to 
deathless  fame,  the  first  martyrs  of  the  Revolution. 

And  this  was  but  the  beginning.     Throughout  the  coun- 


34  The  Negro  Problem 

try,  North  and  South,  the  negro  volunteered  his  services  for 
the  war,  and  joined,  both  in  separate  companies  and  in  con 
junction  with  the  most  gallant  white  spirits  of  the  time, 
in  performing  courageous  services  in  the  cause  of  freedom. 
His  valor  and  ability  were  displayed  on  many  of  the  his 
torical  fields  of  the  war  for  independence,  where  under  the 
leadership  of  white  officers  he  proved  himself,  as  on  other 
and  later  fields,  a  valiant  and  efficient  soldier.  In  Varnum's 
brigade  of  Sullivan's  army  operating  against  Newport  there 
was  a  regiment  of  New  England  negroes,  and  in  the  battle 
of  Rhode  Island,  "None  behaved  better,"  it  has  been  said, 
"than  the  raw  troops  of  Greene's  colored  regiment,  who 
three  times  repulsed  the  furious  charges  of  veteran  Hessians." 

As  at  other  times,  during  this  stress  and  trial  of  the  Rev 
olutionary  struggle  great  inducements  were  offered  him  to 
enter  into  the  .military  organization,  and  in  many  instances 
his  manumission  followed  his  enlistment;  yet,  incredible  as 
it  seems,  were  the  fact  not  borne  out  by  the  records,  in  many 
cases  at  the  close  of  the  war  the  negro  who  had  borne  him 
self  thus  heroically  in  the  forefront  of  the  conflict  and  whose 
efforts  had  beerf  crowned  with  successful  achievement,  was 
relegated  to  his  former  state  of  slavery,  falling  from  the  proud 
position  of  a  conquering  soldier  to  a  being  whose  right  to 
life,  family,  or  property  was  held  dependent  on  the  caprice  of 
his  Caucasian  possessor. 

And  yet,  words  had  been  spoken,  results  had  been  accom 
plished,  relations  had  been  established,  which  forever  changed 
the  view  of  some  thoughtful  men  as  to  the  relation  which  the 
negro  race  should  thereafter  bear  to  the  rest  of  the  American 
people.  No  contemplative  mind  could  fail  to  appreciate 
the  glaring  inconsistency  between  the  position  of  a  race  of 
slaves  and  the  theory  of  a  government  whose  corner-stone 
was  based  upon  the  equality  of  mankind,  and  of  which  the 
proudest  claim  of  distinction  was  a  document  embodying 


The  History  of  the  Problem  35 

the  declaration  that  all  men  were  alike  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights,  and  that  amongst 
these  rights  were  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 
It,  therefore,  soon  became  manifest  to  the  discerning  minds 
of  the  time  that  in  a  land  dedicated  to  freedom,  equality,  and 
opportunity,  the  existence  of  a  negro  race  doomed  to  per 
petual  slavery  was  a  monstrous  anachronism. 

Some  faint  conception  of  this  idea  appears  to  have  pene 
trated  the  minds  of  even  those  unthinking  blacks  of  post- 
revolutionary  days,  and  from  time  to  time  their  petitions 
were  presented  to  Congress  and  to  the  colonial  governments 
calling  attention  to  their  unfortunate  condition,  as  well  as 
to  the  glaring  inconsistency  of  proclaiming  in  one  breath 
freedom  and  opportunity  to  all  men  and  denying  these 
inestimable  privileges  to  the  petitioners.  But  the  profitable 
development  of  slavery  in  the  Southern  colonies  and  the 
financial  interests  of  all  sections  made  it  necessary  carefully 
to  safeguard  the  continued  existence  of  that  institution,  and 
the  plaints  of  the  African  were  steadily  ignored.  Yet  a 
reading  of  the  discussions  of  the  negro  question  at  the  time 
of  the  formation  of  the  Constitution  discloses  the  working 
of  the  Northern  mind  upon  the  subject,  and  the  first  marked 
indication  of  the  modern  elevation  of  thought  which  has 
brought  about  the  emancipation  of  the  negro  race,  and  which 
in  time  will  bring  about  the  solution  of  the  negro  problem, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  adoption  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  by 
the  Continental  Congress.  This  is  certainly  the  primitive 
landmark  of  the  coming  freedom  of  the  race. 

It  came  about  in  this  wise:  As  a  result  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  War,  the  colonies  then  constituting  but  the  merest 

territorial  fringe  upon  the  Atlantic  coast  found 
Efforts  to 
Restrict       themselves    charged    with    the    responsibility    of 

Slavery.  regulating  and  governing  that  vast  tract  of  coun 
try  which  stretched  westward  from  their  borders  between 


36  The  Negro  Problem 

the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Gulf.  Conflicting  claims  existed 
among  the  states  as  to  this  territory,  but  eventually  patri 
otism  prevailed,  and  all  appear  to  have  been  willing  to  con 
cede  to  the  central  government  the  general  supervision  and 
control  of  this  valuable  national  asset.  Accordingly,  in 
the  year  1784,  the  duty  of  framing  an  ordinance  for  the 
government  of  this  great  Western  territory  was  referred  to 
a  select  committee  of  the  Continental  Congress,  consisting 
of  Thomas  Jefferson  of  Virginia,  Samuel  Chase  of  Maryland, 
and  David  Howell  of  Rhode  Island.  The  plan  reported 
by  this  committee  contemplated  the  general  organization 
into  states  of  all  the  territory  comprised  as  above  stated. 

But  the  interesting  point  to  be  noted  here  is  the  provision 
inserted  by  the  hand  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  as  follows: 

But  after  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  of  the 
Christian  Era  there  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involun 
tary  servitude  in  any  of  the  said  states  otherwise  than 
in  punishment  of  crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been 
convicted  to  be  guilty. 

This  attempt  to  secure  the  adoption  of  a  plain  principle 
of  freedom  in  the  undeveloped  regions  of  the  Northwest 
marks  the  initial  effort  of  enlightened  statesmanship  to 
direct  the  steps  of  the  coming  nation  into  the  path  so  long 
and  so  painfully  trod  by  our  country  leading  toward  the 
emancipation,  education,  uplifting,  and  final  establishment 
of  the  African  race.  For  the  time  and  as  a  whole  this  pro 
vision  was  rejected,  but  in  1787  the  last  Continental  Congress 
framed  an  ordinance  for  the  government  of  the  Northwestern 
Territory,  embracing  that  section  of  the  above-mentioned 
tract  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River,  which  measure  contained 
the  great  provision  permanently  establishing  the  principle  of 
freedom  in  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota.  For  by  this  ordinance  it  was 


The  History  of  the  Problem  37 

enacted  that  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  other 
wise  than  for  the  punishment  of  crime  should  ever  exist 
in  this  territory  so  consecrated  to  be  the  home  of  freemen. 
However,  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Gulf  the  territory  was  left 
open  to  the  exploitation  of  the  enslaved  negro. 

In  this  same  year  the  Constitutional  Convention  was  in 
session,  and  the  existence  of  the  negro  in  a  condition  of 
slavery  presented  an  apparently  insuperable  obstacle  to 
the  formation  of  a  better  and  more  perfect  union.  It  is 
manifest  from  an  examination  of  the  debates  and  discus 
sions  of  that  renowned  body  that  there  existed  upon  the 
part  of  many  of  the  delegates  a  desire  then  and  there  to 
free  the  country  from  the  taint  of  human  slavery  and  to  make 
the  generalities  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the 
expression  of  living  truth. 

Roger  Sherman,  of  Connecticut,  one  of  the  strong  minds 
of  the  Convention,  is  on  record  as  having  stated  that  the 
abolition  of  slavery  seemed  to  be  going  on  in  the  United 
States  and  that  the  good  sense  of  the  several  states  would 
probably  by  degrees  bring  it  to  completion.  His  colleague, 
Oliver  Ellsworth,  expressed  himself  to  the  effect  that  slavery 
in  time  would  not  be  a  speck  upon  the  country,  and  generally 
an  optimistic  spirit  seems  to  have  animated  the  conduct  of 
our  forefathers  in  their  dealings  with  this  momentous  and 
perilous  question. 

But  the  subject  was  one  of  the  gravest  difficulty,  the  ob 
stacles  were  too  great  to  be  surmounted,  and  the  Consti 
tution  itself  bears  intrinsic  evidence  of  the  compromises 
necessitated  by  the  existence  of  the  negro  race.  Neither 
the  ugly  word  "negro"  nor  the  still  uglier  word  "slavery" 
appears  in  the  instrument.  The  negroes  are  uniformly  re 
ferred  to  as  "persons";  slavery  is  softened  into  "service" 
or  "labor";  the  hideous  slave-trade  is  toned  down  into  "im 
portation  of  persons";  and  so  far  as  the  choice  of  language 


38  The  Negro  Problem 

could  effect  the  purpose,  the  existence  of  the  plague-spot 
in  our  political  structure  was  carefully  concealed. 

As  the  result  of  the  discussion  by  the  delegates,  three 
important  provisions  bearing  upon  the  negro  question 
were  incorporated  in  the  Constitution: 

FIRST: — Article  L,  Section  II. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  states  which  may  be  included  within 
this  Union  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which 
shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of 
free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term 
of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of 
all  other  persons. 

This  section  marks  the  outcome  of  the  great  contest  in 
the  Convention  over  the  question  as  to  whether  negroes,  not 
being  citizens,  should  be  included  as  a  basis  for  represen 
tation  in  the  Congress  and  in  the  Electoral  College.  The 
manifest  unfairness  of  allowing  an  enslaved  and  non-voting 
negro  to  count  in  the  representation  as  the  equivalent  of  a 
free  white  man  was  not  overlooked  in  the  Convention,  but 
the  necessity  for  compromise  prevailed,  and  the  clause 
giving  to  the  Southern  states  a  disproportionate  weight 
in  the  councils  of  the  nation  was  inserted  as  a  fundamental 
requirement  of  the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  one  without 
which  its  adoption  by  the  necessary  number  of  states  could 
never  have  been  secured. 

SECOND: — Article  L,  Section  IX. 

The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any 
of  the  states  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit  shall 
not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may 
be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars 
for  each  person. 


The  History  of  the  Problem  39 

This,  too,  was  the  result  of  the  spirit  of  compromise,  and 
was  the  second  step  in  the  restriction  of  the  growth  of  the 
negro  race  in  the  country.  The  abhorrent  character  of 
the  slave-trade  was  recognized  by  all,  but  as  a  measure  of 
compromise,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia 
were  able  to  exact  the  extension  of  this  nefarious  traffic  for 
the  ensuing  twenty  years. 

THIRD:— Article  IV.,  Section  II. 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state,  under 
the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall  in  conse 
quence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein  be  discharged 
from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on 
claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be 
due. 

The  adoption  of  this  clause  was  a  necessity  to  the  slave 
holders  of  the  Southern  States  to  enable  them  to  reclaim  their 
unstable  property  in  case  of  escape,  and  thus  at  the  very 
outset  of  our  national  life  the  foundation  of  "The  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,"  later  to  become  a  source  of  bitter  contention 
between  North  and  South,  was  laid  in  our  organic  law. 

Now  we  can  see  from  this  brief  recital  in  what  fortuitous 
manner  our  forefathers  effected  what  they  doubtless  con- 
Compro-  sidered  to  be  a  permanent  adjustment  of  the 

mises  with  status  of  the  negro  under  the  Constitution.  In- 
Slavery 

deed  for  a  time  their  efforts  appeared  to  have 

been  successful,  for  with  the  other  pregnant  questions  spring 
ing  out  of  the  organization  of  the  new  government,  the 
trials  and  difficulties  incident  to  the  establishment  of  the 
machinery  of  administration,  the  second  struggle  for  in 
dependence  of  1812,  in  which  negroes  again  displayed  their 
ability  at  New  Orleans  and  upon  other  battle-fields,  it  was 
upward  of  thirty  years  ;before  this  seemingly  never-to- 
be-settled  question  suddenly  again  became  acute,  present- 


40  The  Negro  Problem 

ing  new  elements  of  vexation  and  danger  to  our  national 
existence. 

The  first  manifestation  of  the  coming  strife  occurred  in 
1820,  when,  it  having  become  manifest  that  the  preponder 
ance  of  wealth  and  population  was  gradually  establishing 
itself  in  the  North  and  Northwest,  it  was  clear  that  unless 
some  arbitrary  measures  could  be  adopted,  the  states  in  which 
negro  slavery  existed  would  soon  find  themselves  over 
balanced  in  numbers  and  in  political  power  by  the  free 
states  of  the  North.  The  spirit  of  restriction  of  the  area 
of  slavery  was  abroad,  and  when  in  the  last-mentioned  year 
the  state  of  Missouri  sought  admission  as  a  member  of 
the  Union,  her  Constitution,  which  provided  for  the  enslave 
ment  of  the  negro  race,  grated  harshly  upon  the  awakening 
sympathy  of  the  North,  and  the  struggle  to  circumscribe  the 
area  of  slavery,  which  began  with  the  adoption  of  the  North 
western  Ordinance,  may  be  said  to  have  been  resumed  with 
renewed  vigor.  State  after  state  had  been  admitted  in 
balanced  order,  one  of  the  North  accompanying  one  of 
the  South,  but  as  a  measure  of  compromise  upon  the  ad 
mission  of  Missouri  the  line  of  latitude  thirty-six-thirty  was 
established,  running  from  the  western  boundary  of  that  state 
to  the  Pacific,  north  of  which  no  state  permitting  slavery  was 
to  be  admitted,  by  which  exclusion  it  was  confidently  expected 
that  in  the  great  territory  of  the  Northwest  the  negro  was  to 
enjoy  the  fullest  measure  of  constitutional  freedom. 

And  again,  by  this  measure  it  was  hoped  that  the  negro 
problem  was  on  its  way  to  final  solution.  This  famous 
Missouri  Compromise  did,  indeed,  for  the  time  appear  to 
have  effected  a  permanent  adjustment  of  the  negro  question 
in  all  the  territory  acquired  from  France  by  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  lying  north  of  the  above-mentioned  parallel  of 
latitude,  but  as  year  after  year  rolled  around  the  necessity 
for  new  slave  territory  for  the  South  grew  more  urgent,  and 


The  History  of  the  Problem  41 

in  commensurate  degree,  stronger  and  stronger  mounted 
the  aroused  sentiment  of  the  North  demanding  enactments 
forbidding  the  extension  of  negro  slavery. 

We,  therefore,  find  late  in  the  fifth  decade  of  the  century, 
Southern  statesmen,  then  discovering  that  the  issue  was 
ultimately  to  be  decided  against  them,  vainly  seeking  to 
remove  all  restrictions  so  that  the  negro  might  be  introduced 
as  a  slave  in  all  the  Western  and  Pacific  territories. 

Finally,  with  the  futile  compromise  measure  of  1850, 
followed  by  the  repeal  of  the  wise  and  patriotic  Missouri 
Compromise  (May  25, 1854),  we  mark  the  close  of  the  struggle 
against  the  extension  of  negro  slavery  and  the  beginning 
of  the  graver  agitation  of  the  question  as  to  the  abolition  of 
the  institution  itself.  We  say  the  beginning  because  though 
for  more  than  thirty  years  prior  to  this  time  there  had  been 
in  existence  an  earnest,  conscientious  movement  directed  to 
that  end,  the  advocates  of  the  abolishment  of  slavery  were 
considered  rather  as  impracticable  fanatics,  disturbers  of  the 
public  peace,  irresponsible  and  seditious  individuals  than  as 
practical  workers  in  national  politics.  They  had  brought 
about,  however,  a  growing  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  the 
existence  of  slavery  was  inconsistent  with  the  continuance  of 
our  national  life;  that  in  the  words  of  Lincoln,  the  nation 
could  not  endure  half  slave  and  half  free.  They  had  com 
pelled  the  nation  to  understand  that  the  negro  was  indeed  a 
man  and  not  a  mere  chattel,  and  as  this  more  accurate  per 
ception  of  the  situation  little  by  little  gained  coherent  form, 
it  led  by  natural  processes  through  political  strife  to  the 
gigantic  conflict  of  arms  by  which  slavery  was  extinguished 
and  another  phase  of  the  negro  problem  revealed. 

The  printing-press  of  Garrison,  the  verse  of  Whittier, 
the  pulpit  of  Beecher,  the  oratory  of  Phillips,  Sumner,  and 
Seward  had  so  aroused  the  national  conscience  that  the  doom 
of  slavery  was  assured.  More  potent,  perhaps,  than  any  of 


42  The  Negro  Problem 

these  was  the  effect  of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  that  marvellous 
work  of  fiction  which  by  its  exaggerated  descriptions  of 
Southern  plantation  life  brought  home  to  the  sympathies 
of  the  men  and  women  of  the  North  the  hideous  possibilities 
of  wrong  existing  under  the  miserable  system  of  human 
slavery. 

The  Civil  War  came  on;  in  form,  a  struggle  springing  from 
conflicting  constructions  of  the  Constitution,  in  substance, 
a  fratricidal  war  brought  about  by  the  presence  of  the  negro 
race. 

The  records  of  our  military  operations  show  that  nearly 
two  hundred  thousand  negroes  were  enlisted  in  the  Federal 
army,  that  under  white  leadership  they  fought  valiantly 
and  accomplished  important  results,  and  that  in  so  far  as 
their  meagre  opportunities  allowed  they  fairly  may  be  said 
to  have  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  winning  their  freedom. 

This  freedom  came  to  them  by  degrees.     In  1862,  by 

the  great  war  measure  of  emancipation,  the  work  was  begun. 

After  the  Federal  arms  had  triumphed  and  the 

Freedom?     South  was  in  helpless  ruin,  in  1865,  the  thirteenth 

amendment  of  the  Constitution  imbedded  into 

the  foundation  law  of  our  country  the  never-to-be-challenged 

fact  that  slavery  was  forever  abolished,  and  the  negro  stood 

as  in  this  land  he  had  never  stood  before,  free  from  his 

shackles,  free  to  go  or  come,  his  opportunities  before  him, 

his  responsibility  all  his  own.. 

At  bottom,  slavery  was  but  a  passing  phase  of  the  negro 
problem,  a  mere  modus  vivendi  affording  a  possibility  of  har 
monious  relations  between  two  races  of  radically  dissimilar 
characteristics  in  occupancy  of  the  same  territory.  With 
its  extinction,  while  the  moral  atmosphere  appeared  for  a 
time  clearer,  the  momentous  character  of  the  race  question 
as  such  was  more  plainly  revealed.  The  Civil  War  abolished 
slavery  and  disclosed  the  magnitude  of  the  negro  problem. 


The  History  of  the  Problem  43 

With  the  close  of  the  conflict  the  real  difficulty  began.  At 
the  termination  of  the  war  the  situation  admitted  of  no 
adequate  solution.  Different  opinions  were  entertained  as 
to  the  capacity  of  the  negro  to  participate  in  government. 
On  the  one  hand,  it  was  thought  that  by  entrusting  him  with 
the  ballot  he  would  rapidly  advance  and  display  his  capacity 
for  participation  in  political  affairs.  Those  who  cherished 
this  hope  were  able  to  place  the  ballot  in  his  untutored  hands, 
but  they  reckoned  without  proper  consideration.  There 
were  others  who  thought  that  he  would  immediately  fall  t 
back  into  a  more  abject  and  hopeless  condition  than  even 
that  of  slavery;  that,  lacking  the  first  elements  of  progress, 
as  soon  as  he  was  freed  from  the  supervision  of  the  govern 
ing  race  and  left  to  his  own  responsibility  he  would  retro 
grade  to  barbarism.  This  view,  likewise,  is  now  seen  to 
have  been  too  extreme.  Between  the  two  points  of  view 
the  truth  now  appears  to  have  lain;  the  negro  has  advanced  f 
in  the  path  of  progress,  but  far  less  rapidly  and  spontaneously 
than  was  hoped  and  expected  by  his  well-wishers. 

Upheld  by  the  armed  force  of  the  Federal  government, 
the  negroes  of  the  Southern  States  exercised  for  some  years 
the  suffrage,  participated  in  legislative  work,  and  in  some 
states,  generally  with  lamentable  results,  were  able  to  con-  \ 
trol  the  legislative  and  executive  departments.  In  national 
affairs,  likewise,  the  negro  began  to  entertain  hopes  of  ad 
vancement.  Two  Senators  and  thirteen  Representatives  in 
the  lower  House  represented  within  a  few  years  the  aspira 
tion  of  the  race  for  membership  in  the  Halls  of  Congress. 

But  the  attempt  at  government  by  the  negro  race  was  a 
wretched  failure,  and  the  history  of  this  failure  of  recon-  ) 
struction  is  familiar  to  the  student  of  our  modern  political 
history.  We  know  what  calamitous  results  were  brought 
about  by  the  effort  to  entrust  to  ignorant  negroes,  fresh 
from  the  slavery  of  the  plantation,  the  delicate  and  im- 


44  The  Negro  Problem 

portant  duties  of  legislation.  It  was  impossible  for  the 
white  man  of  the  South  to  submit  to  the  control  of  his  former 
negro  slaves,  and  so  after  a  struggle  of  force  and  subterfuge 
which  reflects  no  credit  upon  either  party  thereto,  by  a  con 
flict  ending  in  1877  the  few  remaining  vestiges  of  negro  rule 
were  swept  away,  and  since  that  time,  by  one  means  or 
another  (later  herein  to  be  described),  the  negro  has  prac 
tically  been  deprived  of  all  participation  in  the  governmental 
affairs  of  the  Southern  States. 

He  has,  however,  progressed  in  business,  improved  in 
his  religious  condition,  made  great  gains  in  the  direction 
of  education,  and  in  a  thousand  different  ways  his  advance 
ment  has  been  a  cause  for  encouragement  to  the  well-wishers 
of  the  race.  From  time  to  time  large  numbers  of  the  race 
have  sought  to  emigrate  to  more  favored  northern  or  western 
sections,  and  at  one  time  to  Mexico;  but  little  has  come  of 
these  abortive'attempts  at  change  of  locality.  With  freedom  has 
come  the  possibility  of  migration  and  opportunity  for  contact 
with  other  sections  of  the  country.  With  this  development  has 
come  an  awakening  of  intellect,  with  the  awakening  of 
intellect  has  come  aspiration,  following  aspiration  there  has 
succeeded  in  the  main  discouragement  and  despondency. 

In  summing  up  this  brief  review  of  the  history  of  the 
negro  problem  in  this  country,  it  may  naturally  be  divided 

Historical  mto  f°ur  periods,  marked  by  clearly  defined 
Summary.  outlines: 

FIRST, — the  period  of  colonial  indifference  and  unrestrained 
importation,  ending  with  the  prohibition  of  the  slave-trade 
by  the  Constitutional  provision  taking  effect  in  1808. 

SECOND, — the  period  of  strenuous  endeavor  on  the  part 
of  the  free  states  to  limit  the  area  of  slavery,  and  on  the 
part  of  the  slave  states  for  its  extension,  beginning  with 
the  Northwestern  Ordinance  of  1787  and  terminating  with 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 


The  History  of  the  Problem  45 

THIRD, — the  period  of  struggle  for  human  freedom,  be 
ginning  with  the  abolition  movement,  and  leading  by  in 
cessant  agitation  and  appeals  to  the  moral  purpose  of  the    "'• 
nation  to  the  Civil  War  and  the  adoption  of  the  war  amend 
ments  conferring  on  the  negro,  in  form  at  least,  the  fullest   i 
rights  and  privileges  of  American  citizenship. 

FOURTH, — 1865-1909 — the  period  of  trial  and  test — 
forty-four  years  of  nominal  freedom  and  liberty,  forty-four 
years  of  assistance  and  encouragement  from  the  North, 
forty-four  years  of  struggle  against  overwhelming  disad 
vantages  of  repression  at  the  South,  forty-four  years  dis 
playing  some  progress  but  containing  much  disappointment  | 
and  no  end  yet  in  sight;  the  solution  of  the  problem  ap 
parently  as  remote  as  when  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
in  their  spirit  of  optimism  essayed  to  effect,  and  assumed 
that  they  had  effected,  its  permanent  adjustment. 

A  fundamental  and  ever-to-be-regretted  mistake  was 
made  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  in  the  adoption  of  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amendments  to  the  Constitution, 
conferring  upon  the  negro  citizenship  and  the  delusive 
promise  of  equal  rights,  together  with  the  futile  effort  to 
invest  him  with  the  franchise. 

In  theory,  the  negroes  should  have  been  continued  in 
their  subordinate  position  and  regarded  as  alien  wards  of 
the  government  until  by  education  and  experience  they 
might  have  fitted  themselves  for  establishment  as  a  separate 
people  in  some  appropriate  locality.  Unfortunately,  this 
plan  did  not  commend  itself  to  the  radical  statesmen  of  that 
period,  and  under  the  constraining  power  of  Stevens  and 
Sumner  the  nation  chose  the  worser  part,  and  by  conferring 
upon  the  unqualified  blacks  unearned  citizenship  aroused 
hopes  and  held  out  prospects  never  to  be  realized. 

Happily  it  is  not  yet  too  late  to  correct  this  initial  error 
and  to  retrace  our  steps  to  the  point  where  they  diverged 


46  The  Negro  Problem 

from  the  path  of  wisdom,   safety,  and  honor.     The  forty 
years  which   have  elapsed  since  the  adoption  of  this  ill- 

P  advised  policy  of  reconstruction  have  been  a  period  of  trial 
and  schooling  for  the  negro  and  of  enlightening  experience 
and  thorough  reflection  for  those  charged  with  the  control 
of  the  destinies  of  the  nation. 

Better  than  ever  can  we  now  approach  the  discussion 
of  the  problem.  We  have  a  clearer  conception  of  the  char 
acter  of  the  questions  involved,  and  there  exists  a  less  narrow 
and  prejudiced  feeling  between  the  sections  of  the  country 
so  gravely  concerned  in  the  solution. 

I 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  DIMENSIONS   OF   THE   PROBLEM 

The  Moving  Finger  writes;  and,  having  writ, 
Moves  on:  nor  all  your  Piety  nor  Wit 

Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  line, 
Nor  all  your  Tears  wash  out  a  Word  of  it. 

The  Rubaiyat  of  Omar  Khayyam. 

BEFORE  entering  upon  the  performance  of  the  task  of 
attempting  to  propose  an  efficacious  solution  of  the 
negro  problem,  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  carefully  to  examine 
the  dimensions  of  the  subject  under  discussion,  in  order  that 
it  may  be  determined  whether  our  abilities  and  resources 
are  adequate  to  the  accomplishment  of  what  we  are  about 
to  undertake.  To  that  end,  therefore,  before  further  con 
sidering  the  negro  problem,  let  us  pause  for  a  moment  to 
survey  it  in  all  its  portentous  dimensions. 

In  discussing  this  aspect  of  the  question,  and  generally 
throughout  the  work  where  not  otherwise  specified,  the 
figures  regarding  population  are  taken  from  the  United 
States  census  of  1900,  and  the  statistics  in  relation  to  po 
litical  conditions  principally  from  the  New  York  Tribune 
Almanac  of  recent  years. 

It  appears  by  this  census  of  1900  that  the  population  of 
the  continental  United  States,  comprising  the  part  of  the 
country  lying  on  the  continent  of  North  America  and  south 
of  the  Canadian  boundary,  was  66,809,196  whites  and 
8,833,994  blacks.  Adopting  the  general  percentage  of 
increase  shown  by  former  censuses,  and  taking  into  con 
sideration  the  increased  immigration  for  the  past  two  or 

47 


48  The  Negro  Problem 

three  years,  the  white  population  of  the  United  States,  as 
above  denned,  is  at  the  present  writing  in  the  neighborhood 
of  seventy-six  millions,  and  the  negro  population  will  not 
vary  far  from  ten  million  souls.  A  simple  calculation  will 
enable  us  to  ascertain  the  approximate  number  of  negroes 
in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time. 

By  the  census  of  1900  their  numbers  were  ascertained 
to  be,  in  round  numbers,  8,840,000.  For  the  preceding 
decade  the  rate  of  increase  had  been  18.1  per  cent,  which 
closely  corresponds  with  the  general  rate  of  increase  for  the 
preceding  half-century.  Adopting  these  figures  as  a  basis, 
the  increase  for  the  next  decennial  period  would  be  1,600,000. 
The  census  of  1900  was  taken  in  June  of  that  year,  and 
eight  years  having  elapsed,  the  proportionate  increase  would 
be  1,280,000;  indicating  a  present  population  of  10,120,000. 
This  computation,  while  of  course  not  scientifically  exact, 
will  readily  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  discussion  of  the  problem, 
where  extreme  accuracy  is  not  at  all  essential,  and  hereafter 
in  this  work  it  will  be  assumed  that  the  negro  population  is, 
in  round  numbers,  10,000,000  persons. 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  how  this  alien  element  is 
distributed  throughout  the  country,  it  may  be  well  to  take 
this  opportunity  to  refute  the  proposition  so  frequently  ad 
vanced  that  there  is  an  immediate  prospect  of  a  decrease 
in  the  numbers  of  the  African  race.  Its  numbers,  as  shown 
by  each  recurring  census  since  the  formation  of  the  Con 
stitution,  are  as  follows: 

CENSUS  POPULATION 

1790 757,208  1850 3,638,808 

1800 1,002,037  1860 4,441,830 

1810 1,377,808  1870 4,880,009 

1820 1,771,656  1880 6,580,793 

1830 2,328,642  1890 7,488,676 

1840 2,873,648  1900 8,833,994 


The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem         49 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  general  this  percentage  of  in 
crease  has  been  quite  uniform,  and  that  during  the  last 
decade  the  rate  of  increase  was  quite  up  to  the  normal. 

There  appears  to  be  a  law  of  fertility  governing  human 
beings  as  well  as  the  lower  forms  of  life,  which  establishes 
that  the  birth-rate  of  a  race  is  somewhat  in  an  inverse  ratio 
to  the  welfare  of  the  people.  Wherever  we  find  conditions 
of  life  easy,  wealth  abundant  and  luxury  abounding,  the 
birth-rate  falls  until  sterility  practically  ensues;  but  where 
the  conditions  of  life  are  difficult,  the  hardships  incident  to 
poverty  to  be  overcome,  oppression  and  misfortune  to  be 
endured,  there  the  germinative  force  of  nature  seems  to 
exert  itself,  and  the  birth-rate  mounts  in  proportion  as  these 
harsh  conditions  of  life  prevail.  To  this  compensative  law 
of  generation  may  be  ascribed  the  high  birth-rate  in  the 
congested  centres  of  great  cities,  and  in  some  degree  the 
continued  fertility  of  the  Jewish,  Irish,  and  other  races 
which  have  been  subjected  to  harshest  conditions  of  life 
and  yet  have  continued  to  display  a  constant  augmentation 
of  numbers. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  under  existing  conditions  the 
near  future  will  disclose  some  slight  diminution  in  the  rate 
of  increase  of  the  negro  race.  The  tendency  to  crowd  into 
the  cities  at  present  so  strongly  marked  among  them  is  pro 
ducing  an  excessive  death-rate,  mainly  due  to  pulmonary 
disease  (especially  consumption  and  pneumonia),  scrofula, 
venereal  diseases,  and  infant  mortality.  Complete  statistics 
of  deaths  throughout  the  entire  country  are  wanting,  but 
those  compiled  from  the  census  of  1900,  embracing  sections 
containing  a  population  of  27,500,000  whites  and  1,180,000 
negroes,  show  a  death-rate  of  17.9  per  thousand  for  the 
whites  and  31.1  per  thousand  for  the  negroes,  an  excess  of 
73  per  cent,  against  the  negro.  But  the  more  wholesome 
conditions  of  country  life  enjoyed  by  the  great  mass  of  the 


50  The  Negro  Problem 

blacks,  together  with  the  better  sanitation  of  cities  and  the 
enforcement  by  the  whites  in  self-defence  of  health  regula 
tions,  will  tend  to  continue  the  growth  of  the  negro  population, 
though  perhaps  at  a  lessened  rate  of  increase. 

We  now  take  up  the  question  of  the  distribution  of  the 
negro  population.  It  appears  by  the  twelfth  census  that 
nearly  nine-tenths  (89.7%)  of  the  negroes  in  the  United 
States  are  found  in  the  Southern  States,  embracing  Delaware, 
Virginia,  West  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Florida,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Missis 
sippi,  Arkansas,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas,  and  hereafter  in 
this  discussion  wherever  the  term  "Southern  States"  is 
employed  it  will  be  considered  as  embracing  the  foregoing 
states. 

Of  this  population,  from  n  to  16  per  cent,  are  what  are 
termed  mulattoes,  negroes  having  some  admixture  of  white 
blood.  In  the  statutes  of  several  states  the  negro  is  denned 
as  a  person  with  one-eighth  or  more  of  negro  blood,  but 
in  the  general  understanding  of  the  term  throughout  the 
United  States  a  person  having  any  trace  whatever  of  negro 
blood  in  his  veins  is  classified  as  a  negro. 

The  district  in  which  the  proportion  of  increase  is  the 
greatest  lies  in  the  Mississippi  alluvial  region  along  both 
banks  of  that  river,  extending  from  the  Tennessee  line  into 
Louisiana.  In  this  region  five-eighths  of  the  population  is 
of  negro  blood,  the  maximum  being  in  Issaquena  County, 
Mississippi,  which  contains  more  than  fifteen  negroes  to 
each  white  person.  There  are  fifty-five  counties  and  one 
city  in  the  United  States  in  which  at  least  seventy-five  per 
cent,  of  the  population  is  negro.  And  yet,  throughout  the 
Southern  States,  especially  in  the  mountainous  regions  of 
Kentucky,  North  Carolina,  West  Virginia,  Alabama,  and 
Tennessee,  there  are  many  large  areas  of  territory  containing 
very  few  of  the  negro  race. 


The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem        51 

The  centre  of  the  negro  population  is  in  DeKalb  County, 
northeastern  Alabama,  about  four  miles  from  the  western 
boundary  of  Georgia  and  thirty-three  miles  south  of  the 
southern  boundary  of  Tennessee.  This  centre  of  negro 
population  has  moved  since  1790,  from  a  point  in  Dinwiddie 
County,  Virginia,  four  hundred  and  seventy-six  miles  south 
westerly  to  the  above-mentioned  point.  But  the  movement 
of  late  towards  the  southwest  has  been  very  slow,  and  the 
drift  of  the  colored  population,  while  steadily  toward  the 
south  and  west,  does  not  indicate  any  immediate  prospect 
of  considerable  change. 

The  negroes  appear  to  be  principally  a  rural  population, 
as  they  constitute  but  one-fifteenth  of  the  city  population 
and  about  one-sixth  of  the  country  population  in  the 
United  States.  This,  however,  is  perhaps  more  apparent 
than  real,  and  has  no  particular  significance,  as  the  great 
bulk  of  the  negro  population  is  found  in  the  South,  which 
is  essentially  a  rural  community. 

By  the  census  of  1900  the  negroes  were  found  to  be  dis 
tributed  through  the  main  and  minor  divisions  of  the  United 
States  in  an  exceedingly  irregular  manner.  In  that  tract  of 
territory  lying  along  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coasts  and 
extending  inward  for  three  hundred  miles,  and  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  below  St.  Louis,  they  far  outnumber  the 
whites.  In  New  England,  however,  and  in  the  growing 
States  of  the  great  Northwest  the  proportion  of  negroes  is 
insignificant.  Less  than  one  per  cent,  of  New  England's 
population  is  of  African  blood,  and  in  Minnesota  the  propor 
tion  falls  as  low  as  three-tenths  of  one  per  cent.  The  gen 
eral  distribution  among  the  larger  census  divisions  of  the 
country  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 


The  Negro  Problem 


TABLE  I. 

NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT.  DISTRIBUTION  OF  NEGRO  POPULATION  OF 
CONTINENTAL  UNITED  STATES,  BY  DIVISION  OF  RESIDENCE: 

1 900. 


DIVISION. 

Negro 
population: 
1900. 

Percent,  of 
negro  popu 
lation  of 
continen 
tal  United 
States 
living  in 
specified 
division: 
1900. 

Continental  United.  States 

8  833  994 

IOO.O 

North  Atlantic  division       

^8=;.  020 

4-4 

New  England              

sQ   OQO 

o  7 

Southern  North  Atlantic 

1   7 

South  Atlantic  division                          .  . 

6^  j'9"5  L 

6-  i 

Northern  South  Atlantic  

R 

Southern  South  Atlantic  

North  Central  division 

2>672>333 

ou-^ 
c  ft 

495-751 

5-° 

Eastern  North  Central                   .... 

Western  North  Central  

257,  °42 

2-9 

South  Central  division 

237.  9°9 

2.7 

4,i93.952 

47-5 

Eastern  South  Central         

QQ  , 

08  •? 

Western  South  Central  
\Vestern  division 

1,694,066 

20.3 
19.2 

3°'254 

°-3 

Rocky  Mountain                      

12,036 

O.I 

Basin  and  Plateau.  .         

2,6^4 

(i) 

Pacific 

14  664 

O  2 

1  Less  than  one-tenth  of  i  per  cent. 

It  appears  from  the  foregoing  table  that  the  great  pre 
ponderance  of  the  race  (7,922,969)  is  found  in  the  Southern 
States,  the  New  England  and  Western  States  being  especially 


The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem 


53 


free  from  members  of  the  negro  race.  In  fact,  in  that  vast 
extent  of  the  country  designated  in  the  census  reports  as  the 
North  Atlantic  and  North  Central  divisions,  and  extending 
from  Maine  to  Montana,  embracing  all  territory  north  of 
Maryland  and  the  Ohio  River,  the  proportion  of  negroes  to 
whites  is  less  than  two  per  cent.,  and  except  in  the  larger 
cities  the  problem  in  that  section  is  by  no  means  acute. 

The  following  table  shows  the  general  distribution  of  the 
negro  population  by  states: 

TABLE  II. 

NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT.  DISTRIBUTION  OF  NEGRO  POPULATION  OF 

CONTINENTAL  UNITED  STATES,  BY  STATE    OR  TERRITORY 

OF  RESIDENCE:  1900. 


Per  cent,  of 

negro  popu 

lation  of 

continental 

Negro 

United 

STATE  OR  TERRITORY  IN  ORDER  OF  DE 

population  : 

States 

CREASING  NUMBER  OF  NEGROES. 

1900. 

living  in 

specified 

state  or  ter 

ritory:  1900. 

Continental  United  States  

8,833,994 

100.  0 

Georgia 

i  034  8  1  7 

117 

Mississippi. 

007,6^0 

IO    7 

Alabama  

827,307 

9-4 

South  Carolina  

782.32  1 

8.9 

Virginia 

660  722 

7  ^ 

Louisiana     .                                                  ... 

650,804 

7  4 

North  Carolina  

624,469 

7-i 

Texas  

620,722 

7  o 

Tennessee 

480  243 

C     A 

Arkansas  

366,856 

4.2 

Kentucky  

284  706 

•7     2 

Maryland 

2  7  C  064. 

2   7 

Florida  .                                                

230  7  30 

2   6 

Missouri  

161  234 

i  8 

Pennsylvania 

m6  84.? 

i  8 

New  York.                           .                 .... 

00  2  "?2 

i  i 

Ohio.. 

Q6.OOI 

i.i 

54 


The  Negro  Problem 


TABLE  II— Continued. 


STATE  OR  TERRITORY  IN  ORDER  OF  DE 
CREASING  NUMBER  OF  NEGROES. 


Negro 

population 

1900. 


Per  cent,  of 
negro  popu 
lation  of 
continental 
United 
States 
living  in 
specified 
state  or  ter 
ritory:  1900. 


District  of  Columbia 86,702 

Illinois 85,078 

New  Jersey 69,844 

Indiana 57i5°5 

Kansas 52,003 

West  Virginia 43,499 

Indian  Territory 36,853 

Massachusetts 31, 974 

Delaware 30,697 

Oklahoma 18,831 

Michigan 15,816 

Connecticut 15,226 

Iowa 12,693 

California 11,045 

Rhode  Island 9,092 

Colorado 8,570 

Nebraska 6,269 

Minnesota 4,959 

Wisconsin 2,542 

Washington 2,514 

Arizona 1,848 

New  Mexico 1,610 

Montana 1,523 

Maine !,3i9 

Oregon 1,105 

Wyoming 940 

Vermont 826 

Utah 672 

New  Hampshire 662 

South  Dakota 465 

Idaho 293 

North  -Dakota 286 

Nevada 134 


i.o 
i.o 
0.8 
0.6 
0.6 

°-5 
0.4 
0.4 
0.3 

0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
O.I 
O.I 
O.I 
O.I 
O.I 
O.I 

(0 

(0 
0) 
(0 
0) 
0) 
(0 
(0 
0) 
0) 
(0 
0) 
0) 
(0 
(0 


»  Less  than  one-tenth  of  i  per  cent. 

In  order  that  it  may  clearly  appear  where  the  negro  popu 
lation  most  centres,  the  following  table  indicates  the  general 
distribution  of  the  people  of  that  race  among  the  various 
states  composing  the  country: 


The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem 


55 


TABLE  III. 


NEGRO  POPULATION,  AND  PER  CENT.  NEGRO  IN  TOTAL  POPULATION: 

1900. 


STATE    OR    TERRITORY    IN    ORDER    OF    DE 
CREASING  PER  CENT.  NEGRO  IN  TOTAL 
POPULATION. 

Negro 
popu 
lation  : 
1900. 

Per  cent, 
negro 
in  total 
popula 
tion:  1900. 

Mississippi  

QO7  6^0 

«c8  c 

South  Carolina  

782    321 

?8  4. 

Louisiana 

6  ^o  804 

4.7    I 

Georgia  

I   O34  8  I  3 

A(\  «7 

Alabama  

82  7  3O7 

A  r  2 

Florida  

23O  7  3O 

*o-« 

4.3   7 

Virginia  

660   722 

4,5-7 
•2  r  6 

North  Carolina 

District  of  Columbia  

86  702 

o«5-u 
311 

Arkansas            .  . 

366  856 

o  A-  x 

28  o 

Tennessee  *.    .  . 

480  243 

23  8 

Texas  

620   722 

2o  4 

Maryland  

23  C,  064 

in  8 

Delaware 

3O  6o7 

16  6 

Kentucky  .    . 

284.  706 

133 

Indian  Territory  

•?6  8i?3 

Ao-o 

9^ 

Missouri  

I  6  I   234 

52 

Oklahoma 

18  831 

West  Virginia 

4.3  4.OO 

•  / 

4ij 

New  Jersey  

60  84.4, 

•o 

37 

Kansas  

c(2  OO  3 

•  / 

3CJ 

Pennsylvania 

D*»'-""'O 
I  <6  84C 

•  j 

Indiana.    .    . 

e  7    en  C 

"•5 

Ohio  

j  /  ou;> 
96  90  1 

^•o 

Rhode  Island  

9OQ2 

**o 

Illinois  

8c  078 

g 

Connecticut 

I  ^  226 

Colorado.  .    . 

8   C  7O 

5 

Arizona  

I  848 

New  York  

OO  232 

Massachusetts 

Wyoming  .  .  . 

O  liy  1  *+ 

New  Mexico  

i  6  10 

o  8 

California  

1  1  04  ^ 

O   7 

Michigan 

i  c  816 

u'/ 

Iowa  

•  7 
o  6 

Montana  

x^»uyo 

I    C.2  3 

o  6 

Nebraska 

AO^O 

n  <s 

Washington.    .  . 

Minnesota  

•*  jD1^- 

•5 

Nevada  

»voy 

13d. 

°-3 

^&****.*--     . 

^\z^^     •• 

f                 Of    THt 

IUNI  VERSIT 

*o^ 

^ 

°-3 

The  Negro  Problem 


TABLE  III— Continued. 


STATE    OR     TERRITORY    IN    ORDER    OF    DE 
CREASING   PER  CENT.    NEGRO   IN  TOTAL 
POPULATION. 

Negro 
popu 
lation  : 
K;OO. 

Per  cent, 
negro 
in  total 
popula 
tion:  i  goo. 

Oregon         

1,105 

0.3 

Idaho         

293 

O.2 

Maine                                                    

1,7  IQ 

O.2 

New  Hampshire                             

662 

O.2 

Utah                      .                  

672 

O.2 

Vermont 

826 

O  2 

North  Dakota 

286 

O   I 

South  Dakota                                             .  .  . 

46=? 

O.  I 

\Visconsin                                 .         

2  ,  ^42 

O.  I 

The  fifty-five  counties  in  the  United  States  in  which  at 
least  three-fourths  of  the  population  are  negroes,  arranged 
in  order  of  decreasing  proportion  of  negroes,  are  as  follows: 

TABLE  IV. 

PER  CENT.  NEGRO  IN  TOTAL  POPULATION,  FOR  THE  55  COUNTIES 
HAVING  AT  LEAST  75  PER  CENT.  NEGRO  IN  TOTAL  POPULA 
TION:  1900. 


Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

COUNTY     IN     ORDER     OF 

negro 

COUNTY   IN   ORDER  OF 

negro 

DECREASING  PER  CENT. 

in  total 

DECREASING    PER    CENT. 

in  total 

NEGRO. 

popula 

NEGRO. 

popula 

tion  -.1900 

tion:  1900. 

Issaouena    Miss 

Od  O 

Leon   Fla                

80.4 

Tensas   La  .  . 

O7.  C     * 

Wilcox,  Ala  

80.4 

Madison   Miss 

70  8 

East  Carroll,  La  

y*'  1 

91.6 

Wilkinson,  Miss  

79.6 

Beaufort    S   C 

QO    ^ 

Berkeley,  S.  C  

78.7 

Tunica   Miss 

GO    ^ 

Adams   Miss  

78.6 

Washington,  Miss  

89.7 

88  2 

Phillips,  Ark  
Perry   Ala 

78.6 

78.  s 

88  2 

Bossier   La     .         

78.2 

88  i 

Russell   Ala 

78  i 

Stiarkcy    Miss 

88  i 

Claiborne   Miss.  .  . 

78.0 

Concordia,  La  

87.4 

Holmes,  Miss  

77-9 

Chicot   Ark 

87  i 

Jefferson    Fla  

77.9 

86  6 

Lee   Ark   

77.8 

Greene.  Ala.  . 

86.  ^ 

Mclntosh.  Ga.  . 

77-7 

The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem         57 

TABLE  IV— Continued. 


COUNTY    IN   ORDER    OF 
DECREASING  PER  CENT. 
NEGRO. 

Per  cent, 
negro 
in  total 
popula 
tion  11900 

COUNTY  IN  ORDER  OF 
DECREASING  PER  CENT. 
NEGRO. 

Per  cent, 
negro 
in  total 
popula 
tion  11900 

West  Feliciana,  La..  .  . 
Lee   Ga                     .    .  . 

86.2 
8"?.  4 

West  Baton  Rouge,  La. 
Yazoo   Miss  

77.1 
77.1 

Noxubee   Miss  

84.8 

Marengo,  Ala  

76.9 

Crittenden   Ark 

84.  6 

Quitman   Miss 

76  o 

Dallas   Ala 

83  o 

Georgetown   S   C  

76  6 

Sumter   Ala 

**a*w 

82  7 

Morehouse   La  

76.  5 

Dougherty   Ga 

82  I 

\Varwick  Va 

76  •? 

Bullock   Ala 

81  7 

Fairfield  '  S   C 

76  o 

Burke   Ga 

x-  / 
81  7 

Lowndes   Miss  

7  cr  cr 

Desha   Ark 

81  7 

Hinds   Miss  

7^.2 

Hale   Ala 

81  7 

Houston   Ga  

7C.I 

Macon   Ala        

81  6 

Sunflower,  Miss  

7=vO 

Jefferson   Miss  

81.1 

It  will  be  noted  that  all  of  the  foregoing  counties  are 
situated  in  the  lower  South  except  the  one  in  Virginia,  which 
is  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the  York  River. 

There  are  thirty-two  cities  in  the  United  States  each  of 
which  had  more  than  ten  thousand  negroes  in  1900.  Ranged 
in  order  of  their  negro  population  they  are  as  follows : 

TABLE  V. 

NEGRO  POPULATION,  FOR  CITIES  HAVING  AT  LEAST  10,000  NEGROES: 

1900. 


CITY. 

Negro 

popula 
tion  11900 

CITY. 

Negro 
popula 
tion  '.1900 

•22  cities 

Augusta   Ga 

18  487 

Washington,  D.  C  
Baltimore   Md 

86,702 
70  2  c;8 

Montgomery,  Ala  
Mobile   Ala  

I7>567 
17,229 
17  04^ 

New  Orleans   La  

77  714 

Pittsburg,  Pa  

17,040 

Philadelphia   Pa 

62  613 

Birmingham  Ala 

l6.S7< 

New  York.  N.  Y.  . 

60  ',666 

Jacksonville.  Fla.  . 

16,236 

The  Negro  Problem 


TABLE  V — Continued. 


CITY. 

Negro 
popula 
tion  11900 

CITY. 

Negro 
popula 
tion  :IQOO 

Memphis   Tenn  

40  oio 

Indianapolis  Ind  

i  c  07.  i 

Louisville    Ky  

3Q.I  7,Q 

Little  Rock,  Ark  

14  694 

Atlanta   Ga 

•2  r  727 

Houston   Tex 

14  608 

St.  Louis,  Mo  
Richmond   Va  

35,5l6 
72    2  TO 

Cincinnati,  Ohio  
Chattanooga   Tenn.  .  .  . 

14,482 

13    122 

Charleston   S.  C  

71,  £22 

Boston   Mass  

1  1    CQI 

Chicago    111  

•30,1  <o 

Macon   Ga  

1  1  ,5J  CO 

Nashville  Tenn 

TO    O4-4. 

Petersburg  Va 

IO  7^1 

Savannah   Ga 

28  OQO 

Wilmino-ton   N    C 

IO  4O7 

Norfolk  Va.  . 

2O   230 

Lexington   Ky  

10  130 

Even  in  the  communities  in  which  the  cities  are  situated 
in  the  South,  there  are  fewer  negroes  relatively  to  be  found 
in  city  life  than  in  country  districts.  This  difference  is  un 
doubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  a  city  is  more  highly  organized 
industrially  than  an  agricultural  district,  and  in  the  city  a 
greater  number  of  occupations  is  represented  and  higher 
degrees  of  knowledge,  skill,  and  organizing  power  are  re 
quired  in  the  population.  As  the  negroes  have  not  yet  se 
cured  a  standing  upon  a  level  with  the  whites  in  these  higher 
vocations,  no  city,  large  or  small,  is  inhabited  by  negroes 
so  exclusively  as  many  country  districts.  The  difference 
is  akin  to  that  between  the  relatively  simple  agriculture  in 
the  South,  especially  where  negroes  are  most  numerous, 
and  the  more  complex  and  diversified  farming  of  the  North, 
which  demands  a  higher  degree  of  intelligence  for  successful 
operation. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  percentage  of  increase 
in  the  negro  population  during  the  past  no  years: 


The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem 


59 


TABLE  VI. 

NEGRO   POPULATION   AND  NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT.  OF  INCREASE 
BY  TEN-YEAR  PERIODS:  1790  TO  1900. 


CENSUS. 

Negro 
popula 
tion. 

Increase  o 
population 
precedin 
year 

f  negro 
during 
g  ten 

s. 

Number. 

Per 
cent. 

Continental  U.  S.: 

I  QOO  . 

8.833.004 

1,34^,318 

18.0 

I  800  .  . 

7,470,040 

889,247 

13.5 

1880 

6  ^80  703 

i  700,784 

3  I   Q 

1870 

4  880  009 

438,170 

0-9 

X86o                     

4  441  ,830 

803,022 

22.1 

i8c;o 

3,638,808 

765,160 

26.6 

*•    >>  '  
184.0  

2,873,648 

545,006 

23.4 

1830.  . 

2,328,642 

556,986 

31.4 

1820 

i  771  6^6 

303,848 

28  6 

1810                     

i  377,808 

37  5,771 

37.5 

1800  

1,002,037 

244,829 

32.^ 

i  700.  . 

7^7,208 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  census  of  1870  was  very 
inaccurate  in  relation  to  the  number  of  the  negro  population. 
An  investigation  made  shortly  after  it  was  completed  showed 
beyond  question  that  serious  mistakes  were  made  in  this 
regard,  as  the  negro  population  was  returned  at  much  less 
than  its  real  numbers.  Taking  this  into  consideration,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  percentage  of  increase  has  been  fairly 
uniform  for  the  past  no  years;  and,  as  before  noted  in  the 
general  discussion  of  the  number  of  this  population,  there 
is  nothing  in  the  census  returns  which  indicates  any  proba 
bility  of  much  falling  away  of  this  increase  in  the  immediate 
future. 

The  negro  population  is  an  exceedingly  illiterate  one,  the 
census  of  1900  establishing  the  fact  that  among  the  negroes 


6o 


The  Negro  Problem 


of  ten  years  of  age  and  upward,  44.5  per  cent,  were  so 
illiterate  as  to  be  unable  either  to  read  or  write.  The  states 
are  arranged  in  the  order  of  decreasing  per  cent,  of  negro 
illiteracy  in  1900,  and  the  decrease  in  per  cent,  of  the 
illiterates  during  the  ten  years  is  shown  in  the  last  column: 

TABLE  VII. 

PER  CENT.  ILLITERATE  IN  NEGRO  POPULATION  AT  LEAST  10  YEARS 
OF  AGE:  1900  AND  1890. 


STATE  OR  TERRITORY  HAVING  AT  LEAST 
500     NEGROES     10     YEARS    OF    AGE 
AND  OVER  IN    1900. 

Per  cent,  illiterate 
in  negro  popula 
tion  at   least    10 
years  of  age. 

Decrease 
in  per 
cent,  illit 
erate  : 
1890  to 
1900. 

1900 

1890 

Louisiana  .                                        

61.1 

57-4 
52.8 

52-4 
49.1 
47.6 
44.6 

43-° 
42.8 
41.6 
40.1 

38.4 
38.2 
38  i 

72.1 
69.1 
64.1 

67.3 
60.8 
60.  i 
57-2 
53-6 

1  I.O 

11.7 
IT-3 
14.9 
11.7 
12.5 

12.6 

10.6 

Alabama  

South  Carolina  

Georgia 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina                                      .  .  . 

Virginia  

Arkansas  
Indian  Territory 

Tennessee 

54-2 
55-9 
50.5 
52.5 
49-5 
50.1 

44-5 
41.7 
39-o 
35-o 
32.3 
32.8 
45-8 
26.1 
26.8 

25-4 
28.1 
17.8 

23.2 

12.6 

15.8 

12.  I 

J4-3 
11.4 
15.0 

12.2 
I3.6 
13.0 
10.7 

9-7 
10.5 
26.7 
7.6 

8-7 
7.6 
10.9 
0.6 
8.1 

Kentucky.  .  .  . 

Florida  

Texas 

Delaware 

Maryland. 

35-i 
32-3 
28.1 
26.0 
24-3 

22.6 

22.3 
I9.I 
18.5 

18.1 

17.8 
17.2 
17.2 
i<M 

West  Virginia  

Alissouri 

Oklahoma.  .  .  . 

District  of  Columbia.  .    .                     .    . 

Indiana 

Kansas 

New  Mexico.  .  .  . 

Iowa  

Illinois 

Ohio 

New  Jersey 

Wyoming.  . 

Pennsvlvania.  . 

The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem         61 


TABLE  Nil— Continued. 


STATE  OR  TERRITORY  HAVING  AT  LEAST 
500  NEGROES  10  YEARS  OF  AGE 
AND  OVER  IN    IQOO. 

Per  cent 
in    negr 
lation 
10  yean 

illiterate 
o  popu- 
at    least 
>  of  age. 

Decrease 
in  per 
cent,  illit 
erate  : 
1890  to 
1900. 

1900 

1890 

- 

Vermont 

14  6 

20.4 

5.8 

Maine                                                  .    .  .  . 

14.2 

I  <.Q 

1.7 

Rhode  Island  

14.1 

18.1 

4.0 

California 

134 

26  ^ 

I  vi 

Colorado 

I  3  O 

17.6 

4.6 

Arizona         .                                            .  . 

12.7 

IQ.2 

6.5 

New  Hampshire.  .         

I  I.Q 

22.  S 

10.6 

Nebraska  

ii.  8 

I9.I 

7-3 

\Vashington 

ii  6 

17  7 

6.1 

Connecticut 

xi.  c 

I  cj.-j 

3.8 

Montana                                               .  .  . 

1  1.4 

II.  O 

<i>o.4 

Wisconsin.  .    . 

1  1.4 

20.  o 

8.6 

Michigan  

IO.O 

18.9 

8.0 

New  York  

10.8 

17.1 

6-3 

Massachusetts 

10  7 

14.  3 

3  p^ 

Oregon               .             

8.8 

17.  1 

8.3 

Minnesota  

7.0 

12.  1 

4.2 

Utah 

6  ? 

26  6 

20.3 

1  Increase. 

This  table  exhibits  one  of  the  most  appalling  difficulties 
incident  to  bringing  about  any  solution  of  the  negro  problem. 
Here  we  have  nearly  one-half  of  the  members  of  the  race 
concerned  absolutely  unable  to  read  and  write.  From  this 
fact  we  may  readily  infer  something  of  the  condition  of 
the  residue  who  are  living  in  this  mass  of  illiteracy  and  who 
have  but  recently  emerged  from  a  similar  condition.  The 
simple  test  of  reading  and  writing  is  but  a  meagre  thing,  and 
the  probabilities  are  that  at  least  75  per  cent,  of  the  race  are 
intellectually  in  what  might  be  designated  as  an  illiterate, 
uneducated  condition. 

It  is  true,  as  it  appears  from  the  foregoing  table,  that  some 
considerable  progress  in  education  is  being  made,  and  that 


62  The  Negro  Problem 

the  negro  is  slowly  acquiring  ability  to  read  and  write.  But 
after  full  and  due  weight  is  given  to  this  element  of  im 
provement,  the  situation  presents  such  a  degree  of  ignorance 
and  incapacity  that  the  prospect  of  any  speedy  improvement 
is  far  from  encouraging. 

The  census  returns  exhibit  a  disheartening  condition  of 
family  life  among  the  negroes.  Of  course,  it  is  very  diffi- 
Conjugal  cult  to  obtain  accurate  statistics  upon  this  subject, 
Condition,  -fo^  from  those  presented  it  is  quite  apparent 
that  in  manner  of  life,  general  morality,  and  observance  of  the 
obligations  of  the  marital  state,  the  negro,  both  North  and 
South,  is  greatly  lacking.  Without  going  into  details  upon 
this  subject,  we  may  say  that  the  condition  of  immorality 
in  life  presented  by  this  people  is  one  which  adds  to  the 
difficulty  of  any  adequate  solution  of  the  problem. 

The  consideration  of  the  social  condition  of  the  people 
of  this  race  is  not  particularly  conducive  toward  leading  to 
a  hopeful  view  of  the  evil.  This  will  be  considered  more  in 
detail  in  the  ensuing  chapter  upon  the  condition  of  the  negro 
race,  but  is  introduced  here  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  atten 
tion  to  the  fact  that  the  statistics  show  that,  while  in  a  gen 
eral  way  a  large  portion  of  the  race  is  engaged  in  industrial 
pursuits,  the  employment  of  the  labor  of  women,  and  es 
pecially  of  children,  is  much  greater  than  in  any  other  class 
of  our  population.  Child  labor  appears  to  be  the  rule,  and 
owing  to  the  absence  of  any  adequate  accommodation  for 
schooling,  is  probably  greater  than  would  otherwise  be  the 
case. 

The  census  shows  that  of  the  male  negro  children  between 
ten  and  fifteen  years,  49.3  per  cent,  are  engaged  in  gainful 
occupations,  and  of  the  female  population  between  the  same 
ages,  30.6  per  cent,  are  likewise  employed.  The  bare 
statistics  show  the  extent  of  this  evil.  Probably  as  most 
of  these  children  are  employed  in  farming,  the  evil  is  not 


The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem         63 

so  great  as  might  otherwise  appear,  but  even  with  this  con 
cession  its  proportions  are  somewhat  appalling. 

As  the  negro  is  principally  engaged  in  agricultural  pur 
suits,  the  statistics  of  his  employment  in  this  relation  are  of 
great  interest,  and  the  following,  taken  principally  from  the 
report  of  the  twelfth  census,  are  important  in  this  connection: 

There  were  in  the  United  States  in  1900,  746,715  farms 
operated  by  negroes,  of  which  716,512  were  improved  by 
General  buildings.  These  farms  contained  38,233,933 
Statistics,  acres,  or  59,741  square  miles,  an  area  about 
equal  to  that  of  the  state  of  Georgia  or  that  of  New  Eng 
land;  23,362,798  acres,  or  61  per  cent,  of  the  total  area, 
was  improved  for  farming  purposes.  The  total  value  of 
property  on  these  farms  was  $499,943,734,  of  which  $324,- 
244,397  represented  the  value  of  land  and  improvements, 
$71,903,315  that  of  buildings,  $18,859,757  that  of  imple 
ments  and  machinery,  and  $84,936,265  that  of  live  stock. 
The  gross  value  of  all  products  on  farms  of  negroes  in  1899 
was  $255,751,145.  Of  this  sum,  however,  $25,843,443  rep 
resents  products  fed  to  live  stock,  the  value  of  which  re 
appears  and  is  to  that  extent  duplicated  in  the  reported 
value  of  animal  products  such  as  meat,  milk,  butter,  eggs, 
and  poultry ;  subtracting  this  amount  we  have  a  net  value 
of  $229,907,702,  or  46  per  cent,  of  the  total  value  of  farm 
property,  in  farms  cultivated  by  negroes.  This  sum  repre- 
.  sents  the  gross  farm  income.  The  total  expenditure  for 
labor  on  farms  of  negroes  in  1899  was  $8,789,792,  and  the 
expenditure  for  fertilizers  was  $5,614,844. 

Very  few  of  the  negroes  in  the  North  are  engaged  in  farm 
ing,  their  occupations  being  generally  those  of  menial  char 
acter  in  the  cities  and  larger  towns.  From  the  census  reports 
the  condition  of  the  negro  farmer  in  the  South  is  that  of  a 
man  of  a  low  order  of  intelligence  wringing  a  scanty  existence 
from  a  naturally  fertile  soil.  The  system  of  agriculture  in 


64  The  Negro  Problem 

vogue  is  exceedingly  simple,  requiring  no  very  high  degree 
of  intelligence.  The  greater  proportion  of  farmers  among 
negroes  are  those  who  operate  farms  as  tenants  or  as  sharing 
profits  with  the  owners.  Of  the  746,715  farms  of  negroes  in 
the  United  States  in  1900,  187,797,  or  a  n'ttle  upwards  of 
25  per  cent,  of  the  total,  were  owned,  in  title  at  least,  by 
negroes;  the  central  figure  in  the  Southern  farm  life  of  the 
negro  race  being  the  tenant  class,  over  half  a  million  of  black 
men  occupying  their  farms  on  various  terms,  a  large  pro 
portion  of  whom  stand  about  midway  between  serfdom 
and  quasi-ownership. 

Cotton  is  the  chief  crop  of  the  small  negro  farmer,  but 
rice  is  largely  cultivated  in  South  Carolina,  sugar  in  Louisi 
ana,  and  tobacco  in  the  more  northern  states,  these  appearing 
to  be  the  only  crops  which  the  negro  has  displayed  sufficient 
ability  to  cultivate. 

As  to  the  value  of  the  farms  thus  owned  by  negroes  in  the 
South  (because  in  the  North  the  negro  farmer  is  practically 
unknown),  estimates  may  well  differ.  Professor  Du  Bois, 
in  his  discussion  of  the  subject,  says  that  the  total  value  of 
the  farm  property  held  by  negro  farmers  June  i,  1900,  was 
approximately  two  hundred  million  dollars,  or  a  little  less 
than  three  hundred  dollars  for  each  negro  farm.  After  some 
discussion  of  the  question  of  property  owned  by  negroes 
and  rented  out  to  other  negroes  or  whites,  and  other  minor 
considerations,  he  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  total 
value  of  the  property  owned  by  negro  farmers  in  the  United 
States  at  that  time  would  be  two  hundred  and  thirty  million 
dollars.  He  further  discusses,  in  figures  too  extended  to 
be  quoted  here,  the  probable  value  of  the  personal  property, 
consisting  of  live  stock,  tools,  and  other  articles,  and  from 
his  examination,  upon  the  whole,  we  may  conclude  that 
the  wealth  of  the  negro  race  at  that  time  might  fairly  be 
estimated  at  four  hundred  million  dollars. 


The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem         65 

In  his  address  of  November  15,  1907,  at  the  celebration 
of  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  Howard  Uni 
versity,  at  Washington,  an  institution  devoted  to  the  higher 
education  of  the  negro  race,  President  Roosevelt,  in  his 
careful  review  of  the  progress  of  the  race,  calls  attention  to 
the  fact  that  "since  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  the 
colored  citizens  of  the  United  States  have  accumulated 
property  until  now  they  have,  all  told,  some  $350,000,000 
worth  of  taxable  property  in  this  country. "  This  is  probably 
a  fairly  accurate  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  real  and  per 
sonal  property  under  nominal  negro  ownership. 

These  estimates,  however,  do  not  take  into  account  the 
mortgages  upon  the  real  property  nor  the  debts  of  the  negro 
owners,  and  as  it  is  familiar  knowledge  that  in  cases  of  small 
farmers  the  mortgage  indebtedness  is  frequently  one-half 
to  two-thirds  of  the  value  of  the  property,  and  the  individual 
indebtedness  of  the  owner  something  in  addition,  it  is  fairly 
doubtful  that,  if  the  exact  financial  status  of  the  Southern 
negro  could  be  ascertained,  it  could  be  established  that 
he  was  actually  the  owner  of  any  considerable  property. 

In  the  North,  while  some  individuals  have  by  thrift  made 
considerable  accumulations,  their  holdings  form  but  an 
inconsiderable  part  of  the  wealth  of  the  section.  In  a 
general  way,  in  the  discussion  of  the  subject,  the  optimistic 
negro  essayist  says  that  his  race  has  accumulated  six  hundred 
millions  of  property,  but  it  is  certainly  doubtful  if  this  state 
ment  would  stand  the  test  of  close  analysis. 

Probably  of  all  the  states  in  the  Union  the  state  of  Georgia, 
having  the  largest  negro  population,  would  have  the  greatest 
valuation  of  property  owned  by  negroes,  but  we  find  from 
the  report  of  the  Comptroller  General  of  that  state  for  the 
year  1902  that  the  assessed  value  of  the  negro  taxpayers' 
property  was  but  $15,188,069,  against  a  valuation  of  the 
white  taxpayers  of  $452,122,577,  the  negro  owning  but  three 


66  The  Negro  Problem 

per  cent,  of  the  assessed  valuation  although  constituting 
about  forty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  population. 

Assuming,  as  an  outside  estimate,  the  value  of  property 
held  by  the  African  race  in  the  country  to  be  five  hundred 
million  dollars,  this  would  signify  an  average  of  fifty  dollars 
per  person  for  the  people  of  that  race,  subject  to  deductions 
for  debts  and  incumbrances. 

Now,  the  Bureau  of  the  Census  report  recently  issued  1 
gives  the  estimated  value  of  the  entire  property  of  the  United 
States  in  the  year  1904  as  $107,104,211,917,  showing  an 
average  of  upward  of  $1250  for  each  man,  woman,  and  child. 
As  of  this  amount  negroes  own  less  than  half  of  one  per 
cent,  the  question  of  their  ownership  of  property  cannot 
constitute  an  important  factor  in  the  solution  of  the  problem. 

The  ten  states  having  the  largest  value  in  property  were: 

New  York $14,679,042,207 

Pennsylvania 11,473,620,306 

Illinois 8,816,556,191 

Ohio 5,946,969,466 

Massachusetts 4,956,578,913 

California 4,115,491,106 

Iowa 4,048,516,076 

Missouri 3,759.597,4s1 

Minnesota 3,343,722,076 

Michigan 3,282,419,117 

In  other  words,  any  one  of  these  wealthy  Northern  or 
Eastern  states  could,  with-  scarcely  perceptible  effort,  pur 
chase  the  whole  property  accumulated  by  the  negroes  in  the 
United  States.  Indeed,  there  are  many  large  corporations 
in  the  country  the  wealth  of  any  one  of  which  exceeds  that 
of  the  negro  race,  and  some  few  individuals  whose  possessions 
are  reputed  to  be  in  extent  almost  equal  to  the  meagre  hold 
ings  of  that  dependent  people. 

1  Estimated  True  Value  of  Property:  1900  and  1904.  Depart 
ment  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  1907. 


The  Dimensions  of  the  Problem         67 

In  addition  to  individual  ownership,  both  North  and 
South,  the  negro  in  his  corporate  capacity  has  in  many 
instances  acquired  ownership  of  school  and  church  property, 
possibly  in  all  some  fifty  million  dollars,  but  considering 
the  wealth  of  the  country,  its  resources  and  increasing  valua 
tions,  the  negro's  holding  is  inconsiderable.  When  we  regard 
the  vast  development  of  our  national  wealth,  the  great  rail 
road  systems,  manufactories,  mines,  steamboat  lines,  mu 
nicipal  corporations,  agricultural  enterprises,  and  other 
commercial  developments,  it  will  be  readily  appreciated 
that  what  little  proportion  of  wealth  belongs  to  the  negro 
race  offers  no  great  obstacle  to  any  rational  plan  which  may 
be  proposed  for  the  solution  of  this  troublous  problem. 

With  this  general  survey  of  the  physical  dimensions  of 
the  problem,  we  will  take  up  for  consideration  in  the  next 
chapter  the  present  condition  of  the  negro  race,  with  a  view 
of  ascertaining  the  facts  which  create  a  necessity  for  action 
upon  the  subject. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  NEGRO  RACE 

You  may  set  the  negro  free,  but  you  cannot  make  him  otherwise 
than  an  alien  to  the  European.  .  .  .  The  moderns,  then,  after 
they  have  abolished  slavery  have  three  prejudices  to  contend 
against,  which  are  less  easy  to  attack  and  far  less  easy  to  conquer 
than  the  mere  fact  of  servitude — the  prejudice  of  the  master,  the 
prejudice  of  the  race  and  the  prejudice  of  color. — DE  TOCQUEVILLE, 
Democracy  in  America. 

HAVING  in  the  foregoing  chapter  briefly  considered 
the  physical  dimensions  of  the  great  problem  we  are 
seeking  to  solve,  and  acquired  some  comprehension  of  the 
physical  difficulties  of  the  task  arising  from  the  enormous 
numbers  of  the  negro  population,  and  the  extent  of  the 
territory  affected  by  their  presence,  and  having  further  in 
view  the  condition  of  extreme  ignorance  and  poverty  in 
which  the  great  mass  of  the  race  are  submerged,  the  next 
step  in  orderly  procedure  will  be  to  ascertain  what  is  the 
actual  condition  of  the  ten  millions  of  that  race  with  whom 
the  problem  concerns  itself,  both  as  an  absolute  factor  as 
well  as  in  their  relation  to  the  superior  race. 

Manifestly,  to  make  {his  a  matter  of  personal  investigation 
would  be  a  task  impossible  of  execution.  It  is,  therefore, 
necessary  to  have  recourse  to  such  sources  of  information 
as  may  be  found  in  the  numerous  publications  upon  the 
various  branches  of  the  subject,  and  to  make  a  study  of  the 
differing  views  of  those  in  various  regions  of  the  country 
who  have  given  it  special  attention. 

68 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race      69 

But  at  this  point  in  the  discussion  of  the  problem  we  are 
confronted  with  a  grave  difficulty.  It  is  a  matter  of  the  first 
The  Negro's  importance  that  the  facts  concerning  the  condition 
Progress.  of  faQ  negro  an(j  his  progress  since  emancipation 
should  be  the  subject  of  accurate  ascertainment.  And  yet  of 
all  things  relating  to  the  subject  this  is  found  to  be  the  most 
surprisingly  difficult.  So  much  again  depends  upon  the  atti 
tude  of  the  observer  toward  the  problem.  We  are  all 
familiar  with  the  difference  in  the  apparent  magnitude  of 
objects  as  viewed  through  the  opposite  ends  of  an  opera- 
glass,  and  something  of  this  enlargement  or  diminution  of 
the  progress  and  prospects  of  the  negro  race  appears  to  fol 
low  the  attitude  of  the  observer  toward  the  doings  of  this 
mysterious  people. 

If  we  are  to  accept  the  statements  of  the  average  South-" 
erner  as  they  appear  in  newspapers,  magazines,  and  books 
upon  the  subject,  the  negro  race  is  in  a  state  of  retrogres 
sion.  It  is  over  and  over  again  alleged  that  the  race  is 
rapidly  deteriorating  in  every  relation  of  life;  unthrifty, 
immoral,  unreliable,  ignorant,  and  superstitious;  in  short, 
that  it  is  in  a  state  of  relapse  into  the  condition  of  its 
ancestral  surroundings. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  we  are  to  be  guided  by  the  averments 
of  some  members  of  the  negro  race,  or  the  roseate-hued 
statements  of  his  progress  appearing  in  the  publications 
of  negro  schools  and  universities,  and  are  to  base  our  belief 
upon  the  emanations  of  the  Southern  Educational  Con- 
ference,  we  should  be  compelled  to  believe  that  the  recent 
progress  of  the  descendants  of  former  slaves  is  of  almost 
miraculous  character  and  that  the  negro  displays  a  mar-j 
vellous  facility  for  the  acquisition  of  property  and  adaptation 
to  modern  environment,  and  manifests  a  desire  for  educa 
tion  and  advancement  quite  unique  and  unparalleled  in  the 
progress  of  any  other  race.  Does  not  President  Booker  T. 


70  The  Negro  Problem 

Washington  from  time  to  time  inform  us  that  in  the  last 
fifty  years  his  race  has  made  more  progress  than  any  other 
race  in  the  annals  of  all  history  can  exhibit  during  a  similar 
period,  and  that  its  acquirement  of  land  during  the  past 
forty  years  exceeds  in  area  the  combined  territory  of  Holland 
and  Belgium? 

It,  therefore,  becomes  us  to  observe  the  utmost  caution 
in  the  examination  of  this  subject,  and  to  rely  more  upon 
census  statistics  and  well  ascertained  facts  than  upon  the 
representations  of  those  who  are,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
interested  only  in  presenting  one  single  aspect  of  the  problem. 

Now,  the  first  thing  that  strikes  the  mind  of  the  dispassion 
ate  observer  in  the  contemplation  of  the  condition  of  the  negro 
population  in  the  United  States,  as  his  eye  passes  over  the 
whole  field  of  its  endeavor  and  achievement,  is  that  in  its 
present  condition  and  acquirements  the  negro  remains  an 
alien,  exotic,  and  isolated  race.  Neither  in  race  nor  creed,  in 
history,  tradition,  color,  or  bent  of  mind  may  he  establish 
kinship  with  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  country.  From 
whatever  view-point  he  may  be  regarded,  he  is  a  stranger 
in  a  strange  land.  While  he  is  with  us,  he  is  not  of  us,  and 
his  existence  is  as  remote  from  the  ordinary  thought  and 
sentiment  of  the  white  people  as  though  he  were  physically 
the  inhabitant  of  foreign  territory. 

To  establish  this  proposition,  the  attention  of  the  reader 
is  invited  to  the  standing  of  the  African  race  in  its  different 
relationships  with  the  other  elements  of  the  American  people. 

The  political  condition  of  the  negro  is  one  of  the  most 
important  facts  to  be  given  consideration  in  our  discussion. 
Hig  The  essential  purpose  of  American  institutions, 

Political  the  very  basis  of  our  political  organization,  the 
groundwork  of  our  democracy,  and  the  vital 
principle  of  our  system  of  government,  require  the  partici 
pation  of  every  qualified  citizen  in  governmental  affairs, 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race        71 

together  with  an  eligibility  to  occupy  the  public  offices  of 
the  commonwealth,  wherein  honor  and  profit  follow  from 
service  loyally  rendered,  and  exclusion  from  which  operates 
as  a  badge  of  degradation.  Let  us  consider  how  the  negro 
stands  in  this  relationship. 

As  our  examination  of  the  census  returns  has  established, 
we  have  in  this  country  at  the  present  time  a  population  of 
some  eighty-six  millions,  composed  of  seventy-six  millions 
of  the  white  race  and  ten  millions  of  the  black.  Of  this 
ten  millions  of  blacks,  nine  million  are  to  be  found  in  what 
are  popularly  called  the  Southern  States,  the  other  million 
being  scattered  throughout  the  rest  of  the  country.  Upon 
the  simple  ratio  of  population  throughout  the  community, 
the  negro  should  participate  in  the  honors  and  emoluments 
of  political  life  in  the  proportion  of  something  like  one  to 
seven  and  one-half.  Now  what  are  the  facts,  the  cruel, 
inexorable  facts,  bearing  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject? 

Under  the  United  States  Government  his  participation 
is  insignificant  in  its  character  and  extent.  In  the  Executive 
Department  none  of  the  higher  honors  are  for  him;  he  holds 
no  Cabinet  position,  but  one  superior  office  in  the  great 
departments,  scarcely  even  a  minor  clerkship  outside  of  the 
competitive  class.  In  the  army  and  the  navy,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  a  few  subordinate  positions,  the  negro  is  unknown 
upon  the  roster.  By  law,  until  recently  four  regiments  of 
the  army  were  required  to  be  of  his  race,  but  how  little  of 
glory  he  has  gained  from  this  fact  the  records  of  those 
organizations  during  the  recent  past  will  bear  evidence. 
In  the  Legislative  Department  he  is  absolutely  without 
representation. 

For  some  years  following  reconstruction,  both  in  the  Senate 
and  the  House  of  Representatives  the  negro  was  fairly  well 
represented.  Two  United  States  Senators  and  twenty-two 
Representatives  of  that  race  have  at  different  times  occupied 


72  The  Negro  Problem 

seats  in  Congress.  At  the  present  time,  while  in  proportion 
to  population  he  should  have  a  representation  of  at  least 
twelve  in  the  Senate  and  fifty  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  as  a  matter  of  fact  neither  House  contains  one  member 
of  his  color.  Indeed,  it  is  many  years  since  a  representa 
tive  of  the  African  race  has  raised  his  voice  in  either  chamber 
of  the  national  legislature. 

If  we  turn  to  the  Judicial  Department  of  the  government, 
the  result  is  the  same  exclusion  of  the  negro.  Not  a  Supreme 
Court  Justice,  not  a  Circuit  or  District  Judge,  District 
Attorney  or  Marshal  is  of  his  color.  He  is  absolutely  and 
utterly  without  representation  upon  the  Federal  bench; 
and  not  a  minister,  ambassador,  or  representative  of  any 
importance  to  a  foreign  government  is  allotted  to  his  race. 
With  very  few  and  unimportant  exceptions,  no  participation 
in  the  great  administrative  departments  of  our  national 
government  is  permitted  to  the  negro.  The  appointment 
of  a  member  of  the  negro  race  to  even  a  minor  position  is 
a  subject  of  wide-spread  comment. 

After  long  consideration  such  an  appointment  to  the 
comparatively  unimportant  position  of  Auditor  of  the 
Treasury  for  the  Navy  Department  has  recently  been  made 
by  President  Roosevelt.  Opposition  was  developed  to  any 
local  appointment  of  the  aspirant,  and  in  order  to  relieve 
the  situation  the  position  mentioned  was  selected. 

Let  us  follow  the  subject  further.  It  may  be  said  that 
by  reason  of  the  great  minority  in  which  the  negro  is  found 
it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  he  should  be  represented  in  the 
general  government  of  the  country.  If  this  be  the  case,  we 
might  well  look  to  the  local  subdivisions  of  our  land  to  find 
him  exercising  some  influence  in  public  affairs,  but  here,  in 
like  manner,  we  look  in  vain.  A  survey  of  the  list  of  officials 
of  the  states  in  the  Union  discloses  the  startling  fact  that  not 
a  governor  or  high  state  official  of  any  character  of  negro 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       73 

blood  occupies  public  office  at  the  present  time.  And  so 
far  as  known,  not  a  member  of  the  negro  race  sits  upon  the 
bench  of  a  court  of  record  throughout  the  expanse  of  our 
land. 

During  the  year  1906,  an  inquiry  was  conducted  as  to 
the  participation  of  the  negro  in  legislative  affairs  during 
the  prior  year  in  the  different  states  by  addressing  a  com 
munication  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  each  of  the  United 
States  upon  the  subject,  with  the  result  of  disclosing  the 
astonishing  fact  that  out  of  more  than  5500  participants  in 
legislative  work  in  the  higher  and  lower  houses  of  the  forty- 
five  states  of  the  Union,  only  five  were  of  the  African  race; 
two  in  Ohio,  one  in  Illinois,  one  in  Georgia,  and  one  in  West 
Virginia  forming  the  representation.  Can  any  feature  of 
the  question  embody  a  deeper  significance  than  this  complete 
exclusion  of  the  negro  from  the  law-making  power  of  the 
country?  In  his  striking  letter  of  July  16, 1778,  to  the  Earl 
j-  of  Carlyle  and  his  associate  peace  commissioners  Samuel 
I  \dams  forcibly  declares  the  principle  upon  this  point: 

\  I  believe  that  to  be  bound  by  laws  to  which  he  does 
rot  consent  by  himself,  or  by  his  representative,  is  the 
direct  definition  of  a  slave. 

Take  the  situation  as  presented  in  the  New  England 
states.  The  six  states  comprising  that  enlightened  section 
contained,  by  the  census  of  1900,  a  trifle  short  of  sixty  thou 
sand  negroes.  The  aggregate  number  of  Senators  in  the 
state  Legislatures  was  199,  of  Representatives  in  the  lower 
houses  1336,  making  a  total  of  1535,  without  one  negro 
representative  in  either  body  in  any  state.  Consider  the 
meaning  of  this!  In  the  land  of  Sumner,  Whittier,  Andrew, 
Buckingham,  Garrison,  and  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe, — of  this 
sixty  thousand  African  population  not  one  rises  to  the  dignity 
of  an  election  to  the  humblest  legislative  office. 


74  The  Negro  Problem 

Turn  again  to  Kansas,  with  its  negro  population  of  fifty- 
two  thousand  and  its  165  legislators, — again  absolute  ex 
clusion  of  the  negro  race,  not  one  member  sitting  in  either 
house. 

In  singular  contrast  to  this  marked  disfavor  visited  upon 
the  unfortunate  negro  is  the  favor  extended  by  the  voters  to 
those  in  whose  veins  the  blood  of  the  American  Indian  is  to 
be  found.  While  Kansas  cannot  find  a  negro  worthy  to  sit 
in  her  state  Legislature,  she  confers  the  proud  distinction  of 
United  States  Senator  upon  the  Honorable  Charles  Curtis, 
whose  Kaw  Indian  blood  has  proved  no  impediment  to  his 
rapid  elevation  in  the  public  service. 

The  constitution  of  newly  admitted  Oklahoma  contains 
a  provision  excluding  negroes  from  white  schools,  but  her 
junior  Senator  proudly  claims  membership  in  the  Cherokee 
Indian  tribe  whose  removal  from  Georgia  to  the  Indian 
Territory  was  effected  two  generations  ago. 

And  yet  the  negro  has  many  votes,  and  in  a  number  of 
the  Middle  States,  indeed,  holds  the  balance  of  power  as  be 
tween  the  two  great  political  parties.  It  is  currently  assumed 
that  the  voting  members  of  the  race  in  those  states  habitually 
support  the  one  of  those  parties  with  which  it  is  historically 
identified.  If  this  be  indeed  the  truth,  in  the  states  of  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware,  to  say  noth 
ing  of  Illinois,  Ohio,  and  Indiana,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the 
black  vote  might  be  the  determining  factor  in  any  fairly 
close  political  contest.  But  it  is  also  generally  assumed  that 
this  vote  is  venal.  No  effort  is  ordinarily  made  to  attract 
it,  and  even  where  under  ordinary  political  circumstances  it 
might  be  effectual  to  determine  the  result  of  an  election,  it 
appears  to  be  treated  as  a  nearly  negligible  quantity. 

Fuller  discussion  of  the  political  phase  of  the  negro  problem 
is  reserved  for  subsequent  chapters  of  this  work,  as  in  its 
bearing  on  the  question  of  suffrage  in  the  South  it  presents 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       75 

one  of  the  gravest  and  most  menacing  aspects  of  the  subject 
of  our  inquiry.  But  sufficient  has  been  here  set  before  the 
reader  to  establish  beyond  contradiction  the  fact  that  po 
litically  the  negro  exerts  no  influence  whatever  in  the  councils 
of  the  nation,  either  Federal  or  State,  and  that  as  to  him, 
government  is  a  matter  of  imposition  and  not  of  partici 
pation,  taxation  without  representation  being  rigorously 
enforced  against  him. 

Intimately  connected  with  his  political  situation  is  the 
negro's  participation  in  the  administration  of  the  law.  And 
while,  as  we  have  shown,  he  has  no  influence  whatever  in  the 
framing  or  in  the  interpretation  of  the  law  by  which  he  is 
governed,  his  position  as  a  trier  of  facts  is  equally  unsatis 
factory.  There  is,  indeed,  no  legal  discrimination  in  the 
North  against  him  as  a  juryman,  but  in  the  South  he  is 
rigidly  excluded  from  the  panel,  and  even  where  in  the  North 
he  is  called  to  serve  as  a  juror,  his  subordinate  and  menial 
position  deprives  him  of  any  possibility  of  influential  action 
in  that  capacity. 

The  negro  is  likewise  excluded  from  military  organiza 
tions.  In  no  section  of  the  country  is  he  permitted  to 
associate  himself  with  the  white  man  in  the  various  organiza 
tions  of  military  life  or  to  occupy  high  rank  in  the  service. 
In  a  few  states  negro  companies  are  allowed  to  exist  on 
sufferance  as  a  result  of  the  Civil  War-time  enthusiasm  for 
the  training  of  the  contraband,  but  North  and  South,  as  a 
matter  of  military  policy,  the  negro  is.  deprived  of  any  oppor 
tunity  for  participation  in  that  most  important  and  essential 
duty  of  the  citizen. 

In  a  former  chapter  we  had  occasion  to  review  the  edu 
cational  condition  of  the  negro  as  revealed  by  the  census 
statistics.  The  deplorable  condition  of  illiteracy 
Educational  appearing  from  the  tables  referred  to  is  in  itself 

on  ition.    sufgcjen|-  t0  render  but  little  comment  upon  this 


76  The  Negro  Problem 

point  necessary.  It  is  to  the  infinite  credit  of  the  race  that 
since  emancipation  it  has  so  industriously  pursued  the 
upward  path  leading  toward  its  intellectual  regeneration. 
It  is  a  commonplace  discussion  to  enlarge  upon  the  necessity 
for  thorough  education  as  a  primal  requisite  for  American 
citizenship.  The  negro  at  the  present  time,  North  and 
South,  lacks  this  indispensable  qualification.  Nearly  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  negroes  in  the  Southern  States  are  absolutely 
illiterate,  and  the  great  mass  of  the  remainder  have  but  the 
most  rudimentary  qualifications  for  the  exercise  of  the 
privileges  of  citizenship.  Among  them  there  is  a  progressive 
and  growing  educated  class,  which  is  doing  much  for  the 
redemption  of  the  other  members  of  the  race  from  their 
condition  of  ignorance.  But  in  this  herculean  task  the 
advanced  and  progressive  negro  is  handicapped  by  the  want 
of  sufficient  means  for  even  primary  education,  and  further 
by  the  fact  that  wherever  the  members  of  his  race  are  found 
in  great  numbers  they  are  relegated  to  separate  and  usually 
inferior  schools  where  they  lack  both  example  and  inspira 
tion  to  aid  in  their  advancement. 

It  reflects  great  honor  upon  the  Southern  States  that  so 
much  is  being  done  in  the  way  of  providing  and  maintain 
ing  schools  for  the  negro  children;  yet  so  vast  is  this  mass 
of  ignorant  people,  so  difficult  the  task  of  the  teacher,  and  so 
limited  the  financial  resources  of  the  states  concerned,  that 
generations  must  pass  before  the  great  mass  can  be  brought 
to  even  the  minimum  plane  of  understanding  requisite  for 
American  citizenship. 

The  tendency  to  provide  separate  schools  for  the  black 
and  the  white  children  manifests  itself  wherever  the  negro 
is  found  in  considerable  numbers.  In  the  District  of  Co 
lumbia,  under  the  direct  sanction  of  Congress,  white  and 
negro  schools  have  been  separately  maintained  for  many 
years,  and  such  has  been  the  practice  everywhere  throughout 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       77 

the  South  wherever  education  is  provided  for  the  negro  race. 
Professor  Du  Bois  says  that  less  than  one-third  of  the  negro 
children  of  the  South  are  at  present  regularly  attending 
school  even  for  the  few  months  when  these  meagre  facilities 
are  afforded. 

Even  in  Kansas,  the  historic  battle-ground  of  one  of  the 
great  romantic  struggles  for  the  enfranchisement  of  the 
negro  race,  separate  schools  for  whites  and  negroes  are  pro 
vided  in  the  cities.  In  the  case  of  Berea  College  vs.  Com 
monwealth,  decided  in  1908,  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  has  declared  that  a  State  law  which  forbids  the  joint 
education  of  white  and  black  persons  in  private  schools 
is  not  violative  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Liberal  aid  from  the  North  has  been  given  to  the  move 
ment  in  favor  of  the  higher  education  of  the  Southern  negro, 
and  greatly  to  his  credit  are  the  results  which  have  been 
accomplished  by  means  of  this  assistance.  Hampton  In 
stitute  and  Tuskegee  are  the  pioneers  of  many  institutions 
for  the  teaching  of  the  important  lessons  of  industrial  and 
agricultural  development,  while  Fiske  University,  Howard  . 
University,  Atlanta  University,  Leland,  Blair,  and  Wilber- 
force,  maintain  a  fair  standard  of  advanced  scholarship  and 
efficiency,  and  are  all  doing  excellent  work  towards  the 
elevation  of  the  race  in  educational  matters. 

Slowly,  but  with  hopeful  and  assured  progress,  the  negro 
is  emerging  from  his  condition  of  illiteracy,  yet  this  fact  alone 
affords  but  little  aid  towards  the  solution  of  the  pressing 
problem. 

There  are  those  of  doubtful  mind  upon  the  capacity  of  the 
negro  to  acquire  an  education  and  upon  his  ability  to  utilize 
the  facilities  afforded  him  for  intellectual  and  moral  de 
velopment.  But  at  this  point  the  writer  desires  to  place 
upon  record  his  belief  that,  while  the  end  may  be  slowly  at 
tained,  the  negro  morally,  intellectually,  and  industrially  is 


78  The  Negro  Problem 

turning  his  steps  towards  a  future  which  is  inspiring  in  its 
opportunities  and  hopeful  for  him  in  its  every  aspect,  pro 
vided  his  efforts  are  rightly  directed  and  the  opportunities 
sought  are  real  and  not  visionary. 

There  is  here  no  disposition  to  understate  his  educational 
progress  or  the  value  of  the  example  afforded  by  the  thou 
sands  of  negro  graduates  of  colleges,  North  and  South,  who 
have  taken  up  the  work  of  leading  their  less  favored  brothers 
and  sisters  in  the  South  towards  the  goal  of  intellectual  im 
provement.  Considering  the  disadvantages  under  which 
the  average  negro  acquires  his  college  training,  and  the 
difficulties  which  beset  his  efforts  to  live  among  his  own 
people  a  life  which  is  to  approach  the  ideal  demanded  by 
higher  scholarship,  his  achievements  in  this  regard  are 
entitled  to  the  highest  commendation. 

We  are  called  upon  next  to  consider  what  is  perhaps  the 
most  depressing  feature  of  the  present  condition  of  the 
Hig  African  race,  and  that  is  the  industrial  situation 

Industrial  with  which  the  black  man  is  confronted.  Here 
we  find  him  laboring  under  manifold  disad 
vantages.  The  multiplied  incapacities  of  generations  are 
not  to  be  redeemed  by  one  brilliant  stroke  of  industrial 
enterprise.  The  old  industrial  system  of  the  South,  the 
primitive  farm  life,  the  simple  tasks  of  the  field,  and  the  iso 
lated  character  of  the  plantation,  left  the  negro  at  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War  without  training  in  the  mechanic 
arts,  without  a  well  mastered  trade,  and  without  under 
standing  of  commercial  life.  Here,  again,  it  is  difficult 
to  secure  accurate  statistics  as  to  the  progress  which  has  been 
made. 

Messages  of  hope  and  encouragement  come  from  Hamp 
ton,  from  Tuskegee,  and  from  various  other  institutions  of 
the  South,  wherein  it  is  asserted  that  the  negro  is  acquiring 
land,  adapting  himself  to  improved  methods  of  agriculture, 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       79 

advancing  in  the  acquisition  of  money,  and  generally  making 
himself  a  more  commanding  factor  in  the  prosperity  of  the 
community.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  question  is  raised 
whether  in  fact  the  negro  is  gaining  ground  in  Southern 
industries,  or  even  maintaining  his  position  in  industrial 
competition. 

There  will  be  found  in  the  December  number  of  the 

North  American  Review  for  1904  a  discussion  of  the  negro 

problem  from  an  economic  view-point  by  Mr. 

Conditions   William  Garrott  Brown,  a  graduate  of  Harvard 

m  the  University,  lecturer  on  American  history  at  that 
South.  ' '  j 

institution,  and   author  of    the   historical   work 

The  Lower  South  in  American  History.  Mr.  Brown  has 
made  a  very  complete  personal  study  of  the  Southern 
States  from  Virginia  to  Texas,  with  a  view  of  ascertain 
ing  the  exact  condition  of  the  negro  race  economically 
and  in  its  relation  to  the  industrial  system  of  the  section. 
Space  will  not  here  permit  an  extended  discussion  of  the 
facts  and  reasoning  contained  in  this  article,  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred  for  further  information  upon  the  subject. 
But  as  a  general  result  of  Mr.  Brown's  investigations  the 
conclusion  is  reached  by  him  that,  upon  the  whole,  grave 
doubts  exist  as  to  the  ability  of  the  negro  to  maintain  his 
position  in  industrial  and  agricultural  affairs  in  the  Southern 
States.  His  tendency  toward  idleness  and  dissipation,  his 
crowding  into  the  towns,  his  inefficiency  in  the  raising  of 
crops,  his  general  indisposition  toward  a  serious  and  thorough 
endeavor  to  attain  proficiency,  in  any  department  of  en 
deavor,  are  all  dwelt  upon,  and  the  conclusion  is  reached 
that  if,  as  indications  now  appear,  there  should  develop  a 
considerable  immigration  of  foreign  white  persons  to  the 
South,  the  negro's  position  in  the  industries  of  the  section 
will  be  seriously  threatened. 
The  implacable  hostility  of  white  labor  towards  negro  / 


8o  The  Negro  Problem 

labor  has  much  to  do  with  this  menacing  condition.  Wher 
ever  the  white  man  gains  possession  of  an  industry,  the 
negro  is  immediately  excluded.  This  has  been  the  case  in 
the  cotton  mills  of  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas.  The  great 
economic  advantage  of  having  the  mills  near  the  source  of 
production  of  cotton  has  slowly  but  surely  been  removing 
the  cotton  industry  from  New  England  and  transferring  it 
to  the  South.  But  in  the  words  of  O.  M.  Sadler,  of  Char 
lotte,  North  Carolina,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Piedmont 
Division  of  the  Southern  Express,  in  speaking  of  the  cotton 
mills  of  his  section, 

No  negroes  work  in  the  cotton  factories.  They  were 
tried  and  found  wanting.  The  truth  is,  the  negroes  have 
not  the  fine  touch  necessary  for  the  handling  of  high  class 
machinery. 

The  abolition  of  slavery  thrust  them  into  the  present 
economic  system,  and  forced  them  to  compete  on  a  common 
level  with  the  more  highly  trained  white  artisan  and  to 
fall  back  in  the  economic  competition  if  not  equally  efficient. 
Whether  under  that  system  it  will  be  demonstrated  that 
they  are  and  must  for  all  time  remain  mere  hewers  of  wood 
and  drawers  of  water  is  an  interesting  question,  the  answer  to 
which  involves  the  destiny  of  their  race. 

Unquestionably,  during  the  last  decade  in  the  Southern 
States  the  negro  has  not  made  the  advancement  in  agricul 
tural  and  industrial  fields  which  was  confidently  expected  by 
those  entertaining  optimistic  views  of  his  capacity.  Whether 
or  not  he  will  by  reason  of  the  instruction  and  example  of 
the  industrial  schools  now  organized  and  organizing  in  that 
section  be  able  to  hold  his  own,  or  whether  or  not  his  hope 
of  even  retaining  his  present  industrial  position  must  be 
abandoned,  depends  largely  upon  what  might  be  called 
his  intrinsic  qualifications,  and  is  a  subject  in  regard  to 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       81 

which  no  one  can  adequately  prophesy.  His  situation  in 
this  respect  is  none  too  hopeful. 

One  of  the  most  alarming  aspects  of  the  Southern  situa 
tion  is  the  constantly  increasing  tendency  towards  reducing 
the  negro  to  a  condition  of  peonage.  A  chapter  might  be 
profitably  devoted  to  this  view  of  the  subject,  did  space 
permit. 

From  Virginia  to  Texas  various  state  laws  are  in  force 
which  virtually  operate  to  restrain  the  negro  farm-hand  from 
leaving  the  farm,  or  the  common  laborer  under  contract 
from  leaving  his  employment,  and  enable  the  employer 
through  a  system  of  fines  or  imprisonment  to  control  the 
personal  liberty  of  his  employee. 

By  Section  121  of  the  Code  of  Georgia,  1895,  it  is  provided 

that  if  any  person  shall,  b}^  offering  higher  wages,  or  in 
any  other  way  entice,  persuade  or  decoy,  or  attempt  to 
entice,  persuade  or  decoy  any  farm  laborer  from  his  em 
ployer,  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

And  by  act  of  December  17,  1901,  it  is  also  made  a  mis 
demeanor  to  rent  land  to  a  farmer  or  to  furnish  land  to  a 
farm  laborer  while  he  is  under  contract  to  another. 

In  general,  the  practice  of  the  lower  South  is  to  make  the 
liberty  of  the  negro  laborer  or  small  farmer  dependent  upon 
his  fulfilment  of  his  contract  obligations,  and  to  give  to 
his  employer  or  creditor  the  power  through  friendly  officials 
to  exact  labor  from  him  while  under  duress.  The  working 
of  this  system  displays  itself  in  the  establishment  of  the 
peonage  system  in  Georgia,  Florida,  and  Alabama,  which 
is  causing  the  United  States  authorities  so  much  difficulty 
and  expense  to  repress.  Several  convictions  have  been  had 
for  this  offence,  which  amounts  substantially  to  selling  into 
enforced  public  service  or  the  retaining  in  private  involun 
tary  servitude,  persons  who  fail  to  pay  alleged  debts,  fre- 


82  The  Negro  Problem 

quently  extortionate  or  fraudulent.  The  crime  appears  to 
be  on  the  increase  throughout  the  South,  and  under  present 
conditions  is  found  exceedingly  difficult  of  suppression. 

While  the  recent  magazine  articles  on  the  subject  are  of 
a  rather  sensational  order,  there  is  good  reason  for  the  belief 
that  this  quasi-slavery  to  which  both  white  and  black  are 
subjected  is  assuming  serious  proportions.  Frequent  re 
ports  appear  in  the  daily  newspapers  of  practices  of  this 
character,  and  the  difficulties  experienced  in  the  United 
States  courts  in  securing  convictions  under  sections  1990 
and  5526  R.  S.  for  the  crime  of  peonage  where  negroes 
are  complainants  are  forcible  reminders  of  the  arduous 
task  of  executing  a  statute  not  heartily  sustained  by  public 
opinion. 

No  more  may  be  said  upon  this  point  here  than  that  this 
system,  with  the  barbarous  and  inhuman  convict-labor  system 
of  the  extreme  Southern  States,  has  a  general  tendency  com- 
pulsorily  to  retain  the  negro  upon  his  native  soil,  and  is 
leading  towards  a  system  of  complete  physical  subjection 
which  promises  to  be  fruitful  of  the  greatest  injury  to  the 
race. 

Turning   now  our   attention  to  the  North,   industrially 

we  find  the  condition  of  the  negro  even  less  hopeful  than  in 

the  South.     Here  almost  every  avenue  of  oppor- 

Conditions   tunity    to    secure    remunerative    employment    is 

North*         closed    against  'him.     The    tendency    for    some 

years  has  been  toward  a  migration  from  Virginia 

and  the  Carolinas  northward,  and  the  black  population  of 

the  Northern  States  has  gradually  been  increasing  in  numbers, 

especially  in  urban  communities.     And  yet  the  negro  is  not 

desired;  no  real  demand  for  his  services  exists. 

This  could  not  be  more  clearly  stated  than  has  been  done 
by  President  Eliot  of  Harvard  University  in  a  thoughtful 
address  upon  this  subject  at  a  meeting  of  the  Armstrong 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       83 

Association  in  New  York  a  year  or  two  ago.     President 
Eliot  says: 

With  regard  to  coming  into  personal  contact  with 
negroes,  the  averse  feeling  of  the  Northern  whites  is 
stronger  than  that  of  the  Southern  whites,  who  are  accus 
tomed  to  such  contact,  but  on  account  of  the  fewness  of 
the  negroes  in  the  North  no  separate  provision  is  made 
for  them  in  public  conveyances  and  other  places  of  resort, 
but  the  uneducated  Northern  whites  are  less  tolerant  of 
the  negro  than  the  Southern  whites.  More  trades  and 
occupations  are  actually  open  to  negroes  in  Soutl  srn 
States  than  in  the  Northern. 

The  negro  is  not  needed  in  the  North,  and  at  best  he  is 
now  only  tolerated,  and  the  wisest  members  of  the  race  are 
counselling  him  to  remain  in  the  more  favorable  industrial 
atmosphere  of  the  Southern  States. 

In  an  article  in  the  American  Magazine  for  January,  1907, 
the  Reverend  Washington  Gladden  states  the  industrial 
condition  of  the  Northern  negro  as  follows: 

You  hear  at  the  North  not  seldom  the  sentiment  ex 
pressed  that  the  negroes  ought  to  be  disfranchised,  and 
there  are  multitudes  here  who  are  ready  and  determined  to 
shut  the  door  of  opportunity  in  their  faces.  As  a  rule, 
they  are  not  admitted  to  the  Trades  Unions;  to  very  few 
of  the  skilled  trades  can  they  gain  access;  investigation 
in  the  city  of  New  York  shows  102  different  trades  or 
divisions  of  trades  on  the  list  of  the  Central  Federated 
Union  which  have  no  negroes  in  their  membership.  Miss 
Ovington,  who  made  this  investigation,  says:  "Undoubtedly 
men  are  debarred  from  unions  in  New  York  solely  because 
of  their  color.  This  is  contrary  to  the  ideals  of  organ 
ized  labor  and  the  Constitution  of  the  American  Federa 
tion  of  Labor,  and,  I  believe,  to  the  sense  of  the  best  men 


84  The  Negro  Problem 

in  the  movement  in  New  York.  But  the  admission  of  a 
member  is  largely  left  to  the  local  in  which  he  applies, 
and  there  are  various  means  by  which  a  colored  man  may 
be  refused  admittance." 

It  is,  indeed,  true  that  as  a  matter  of  policy  labor  unions 
exclude  the  negro.  The  inspiring  purpose  of  existence 
of  these  organizations  is  to  effect  a  combination  of  those 
engaged  in  the  various  divisions  of  industrial  pursuits  upon 
a  basis  of  fraternal  effort  to  bring  about  increased  efficiency 
in  the  democratic  conduct  of  industries.  They  fail  to  affili 
ate  with  the  negro  for  these  purposes  because  his  qualifi 
cations  render  him  valueless  for  their  membership. 

John  Mitchell,  in  his  great  work,  Organized  Labor,  points 
out  the  fact  that  in  many  cases  where  strikes  have  taken 
place  a  deliberate  policy  on  the  part  of  employers  of  using 
negroes  as  strike  breakers  has  been  adopted,  and  that  the 
racial  animosities  growing  out  of  this  practice  prevent  the 
negro  from  participating  in  the  great  benefits  of  organized 
labor  institutions. 

Condemned  thus  to  an  isolated  labor  existence,  relegated 
to  the  less  desirable  and  less  lucrative  occupations,  the  in 
dustrial  condition  of  the  negro  in  the  North  is  deplorable. 
He  has  no  assured  standing,  no  fixed  industrial  status, 
either  in  city  or  in  country.  He  is  to  be  found  idling  about 
stables,  saloons,  and  street  corners,  loitering  upon  the  ragged 
edge  of  industry  in  waiting  for  odd  jobs,  or  at  best  sporad 
ically  engaged  in  the  most  laborious  and  undesirable  branches 
of  industry. 

A  tour  of  observation  through  any  of  our  great  cities  will 
satisfy  the  curiosity  of  even  an  ordinary  observer  as  to  the 
place  which  the  negro  holds  industrially  in  a  Northern 
community.  He  labors  under  two  overwhelming  disad 
vantages;  first,  the  hostility  of  the  white  laborer,  continually 
manifested  in  a  refusal  to  work  or  associate  with  him,  and 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       85 

1 

secondly,  his  own  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  no  matter 
how  diligently  he  may  toil,  no  matter  how  trustworthy  his 
conduct  may  approve  him,  there  is  no  advancement  in  store 
for  him  beyond  the  performance  of  the  most  commonplace 
duties. 

As  a  foreman,  he  is  not  to  be  endured  by  other  laborers 
of  different  blood,  and  little  by  little  he  is  forced  down  to 
undesirable  and  less  lucrative  occupations.  And  even  in 
these,  where  they  bring  him  into  contact  with  white  people 
of  refined  character,  he  is  losing  ground. 

Thirty  years  ago,  when  the  writer  first  came  to  New  York, 
a  large  proportion  of  the  high  class  restaurants  and  hotels 
employed  negroes  as  waiters  and  general  servants,  and  such, 
it  is  believed,  was  the  situation  in  most  of  our  Northern  cities. 
This  has  almost  entirely  passed  away,  and  now  only  in  a 
few  places  of  the  humbler  order  are  negroes  to  be  found 
occupying  these  positions.  Barber  shops  were  very  gen 
erally  conducted  thirty  years  ago  by  negroes;  to-day,  save 
for  shops  where  customers  are  of  their  own  race,  negro  v 
barbers  in  the  North  are  virtually  unknown. 

In  hotels  and  clubs,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  political 
clubs  of  distinctively  Republican  character,  negro  attendants 
are  in  disfavor.  Inquiry  at  the  first-class  hotels  in  New 
York  City  elicits  the  fact  that  no  negro  help  is  desired.  In 
the  Borough  of  Brooklyn,  where  the  writer  resides,  last 
winter  there  was  opened  a  handsome  new  club  house  of  a 
club  embracing  2500  members,  of  whom,  of  course,  not 
one  negro  is  a  member;  this  house,  necessitating  a  corps  of 
upwards  of  one  hundred  attendants,  is  absolutely  without 
one  negro,  even  in  the  most  subordinate  position.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  add  further  illustration  of  this  argument. 

One  bright  December  day  last  winter  on  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York,  between  the  hours  of  four  and  five,  occasion  was 
taken  to  count  three  hundred  carriages  and  hansoms,  a  large 

~V 

<£ ' 


86  The  Negro  Problem 

proportion  being  private  equipages,  and  to  note  the  racial 
character  of  the  drivers.  Out  of  three  hundred  only  seven 
were  negroes.  And,  in  like  manner,  any  one  going  through 
the  wealthy  and  more  fashionable  sections  of  our  Northern 
cities  can  see  that  little  household  help  of  the  African  race  is 
employed  by  refined  families.  In  fact,  the  whole  tendency  of 
the  times  is  against  them.  The  greater  the  refinement  of  the 
white  person,  the  less  he  desires  to  be  brought  into  contact 
with  the  blacks,  and  in  the  marked  industrial  advancement 
of  the  North  the  negro  has  enjoyed  but  little  share  of  the 
accruing  benefit.  Except  in  so  far  as  he  works  for  or  does 
business  with  his  own  people  or  renders  humble  domestic 
service,  the  negro  is  an  unimportant  factor  in  the  development 
of  Northern  communities. 

The  negro  leaders  recognize  the  futility  of  attempting  to 
overcome  this  handicap  in  the  North,  and  the  wiser  and  more 
experienced  members  of  the  race  advise  their  associates 
to  remain  in  the  South,  where  opportunities  are  better  and 
racial  antipathy  less  pronounced,  and  where  by  his  know 
ledge  of  agriculture  the  negro  may  at  least  work  out  for 
himself  a  self-supporting  career. 

The  condition  of  the  Northern  negro  is  pathetic.  Presi 
dent  Booker  T.  Washington,  an  incorrigible  optimist  in 
everything  relating  to  the  problem  of  negro  advancement, 
was  obliged  to  say  in  his  recent  address  at  the  meeting  of 
the  American  Committee  of- Political  and  Social  Science  at 
New  Century  Hall,  Philadelphia: 

No  one  can  fully  appreciate  the  need  of  an  industrial 
training  who  has  not  walked  the  streets  of  a  Northern  city 
day  after  day  seeking  employment,  only  to  find  every  door 
closed  against  him,  on  account  of  his  color,  except  along 
certain  lines  of  menial  service. 

The  condition  of  the  negro  in  the  North  is  discouraging 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       87 

to  any  continued  migration  from  the  South,  and  this  in 
itself  throws  back  the  weight  of  the  problem  upon  the  South 
ern  communities.  To  quote  from  the  brief  of  the  Attorney 
General  of  the  United  States  in  the  case  of  Hodges  vs.  United 
States  (203  U.  S.  14),  where  it  was  decided  that  the  Federal 
court  had  no  jurisdiction  to  prevent  the  oppression  of 
negroes  so  long  as  the  acts  complained  of  were  not  perpe 
trated  by  officials  of  a  state: 

The  war  of  races  is  no  longer  a  sectional  war;  it  is  as 
bitter  in  the  State  of  Chase  and  Giddings  as  it  is  in  the 
State  of  Arkansas.  If  the  negro  who  is  in  our  midst  can 
be  denied  the  right  to  work,  and  must  live  on  the  outskirts 
of  civilization,  he  will  become  more  dangerous  than  the 
wild  beasts,  because  he  has  a  higher  intelligence  than  the 
most  intelligent  beast.  He  will  become  an  outcast  lurking 
about  the  borders  and  living  by  depredation. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  pursue  this  topic  further.  If  the 
condition  of  the  negro  politically,  educationally,  and  in 
dustrially  is  as  discouraging  as  has  been  depicted  in  the 
foregoing  pages,  it  yet  might  be  greatly  alleviated  had  he 
the  encouragement  and  opportunity  which  would  come  from 
a  social  sympathy  exerted  in  his  behalf  and  a  sincere  en 
deavor  on  the  part  of  his  fellow-citizens  to  elevate  him  to  a 
position  of  equality  with  themselves. 

Unfortunately  for  him,  such  is  not  the  case.  He  is  every 
where  completely  out  of  touch  with  the  social  activities 
of  the  people  among  whom  he  is  obliged  to  exert 
Social  his  energies  for  the  maintenance  of  his  existence, 
Iso  ation.  an(j  UpOn  whose  favor  his  welfare  depends.  In 
the  South,  by  hereditary  instinct  as  well  as  for  economic 
reasons,  he  is  debarred  from  every  possible  avenue  leading 
to  social  advancement.  We  may  ascribe  this  exclusion  to 
what  cause  we  please,  to  unworthy  racial  animosity  or  to  an 


88  The  Negro  Problem 

instinctive  and  exalted  desire  for  the  preservation  of  the 
purity  of  the  white  race,  but  the  fact  remains  one  of  common 
knowledge  that  throughout  that  entire  region  the  negro 
is  relegated  in  every  possible  way  to  the  position  of  a  social 
being  of  inferior  character. 

In  his  essay  entitled  The  Souls  of  Black  Folk  (pp.  39, 40), 
the  scholarly  Professor  William  E.  Burghardt  Du  Bois,  of 
Atlanta  University,  thus  depicts  the  social  and  economic 
condition  of  the  rural  negro  of  the  South: 

For  this  all  men  know:  Despite  compromise,  war  and 
struggle,  the  negro  is  not  free.  In  the  backwoods  of  the 
Gulf  States,  for  miles  and  miles,  he  may  not  leave  the 
plantation  of  his  birth;  in  wellnigh  the  whole  rural  South 
the  black  farmers  are  peons  bound  by  law  and  custom 
to  an  economic  slavery,  from  which  the  only  escape  is 
death  or  the  penitentiary. 

In  the  most  cultured  sections  and  cities  of  the  South 
the  negroes  are  a  segregated  and  servile  caste,  with  re 
stricted  rights  and  privileges.  Before  the  courts,  both 
in  law  and  custom,  they  stand  on  a  different  and  peculiar 
basis.  Taxation  without  representation  is  the  rule  of 
their  political  life.  And  the  result  of  all  this  is,  and  in 
its  nature  must  have  been,  lawlessness  and  crime. 

We  are  told  from  time  to  time  by  well  meaning  theorists 
unfamiliar  with  the  facts  concerning  the  condition  of  the 
Southern  negro,  that  this  contemptuous  treatment  is  not 
the  true  expression  of  the  sentiment  of  the  better  class  of 
that  section;  that  this  feeling  is  cherished  only  by  those  of  the 
lower  stratum  of  the  white  people,  the  descendants  of  the  poor 
whites,  who  in  ante-bellum  days  were  considered  as  scarcely 
superior  in  point  of  social  standing  to  the  negro.  This  view 
will  receive  consideration  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  where 
it  will  be  pointed  out  upon  what  erroneous  opinions  it  rests. 
But  in  so  far  as  the  South  is  concerned  it  must  be  accepted 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       89 

as  the  dominating  principle  in  its  social  life  that  the  negro 
is  to  be  rigidly  excluded  from  participation  in  any  event, 
or  recognition  in  any  relation,  which  may  tend  to  place  him 
upon  the  same  social  plane  with  the  white  man. 

In  explanation,  the  negro  vehemently  asserts  that  this 
is  an  unnatural  and  artificial  barrier  raised  against  him — 
that  to  race  prejudice,  and  to  race  prejudice  alone,  is  owing 
his  exclusion  from  social  equality — that  by  a  vigorous  and 
sympathetic  effort  on  the  part  of  the  whites  this  condition  of 
affairs  might  be  relieved  and  the  social  organization  of  that 
community  be  founded  upon  a  harmonious  self-respecting 
basis,  in  which,  without  racial  amalgamation,  each  of  the 
peoples  might  develop  itself  on  parallel  lines  of  social  equal 
ity.  But  we  are  not  concerned  with  what  might  be  the  out 
come  of  such  an  effort  in  a  remote  future.  The  subject  of 
this  chapter  is  the  present  condition  of  the  negro  race,  and  in 
the  Southern  States  its  members  are  regarded  by  the  domi 
nant  caste  as  socially  in  the  position  of  an  outcast  element, 
pariahs  in  an  ostensibly  democratic  community. 

The  negro's  hope  of  social  recognition,  therefore,  nat 
urally  causes  him  to  turn  his  thoughts  to  the  North,  and  in 
that  section,  if  anywhere,  he  must  look  for  the  gratification 
of  his  social  aspirations.  Now,  what  are  the  facts,  the  hard, 
disagreeable,  but  incontrovertible  facts,  regarding  his  social 
standing  in  the  assumedly  less  prescriptive  states  of  the 
North? 

First,  he  enjoys  whatever  benefits  may  be  derived  from    • 

the  various  Civil  Rights  Bills  in  force  in  Northern  States, 

which  are  intended  to  place  him  in  all  respects 

Conditions   as  to  his  civil  rights  and  social  opportunities  upon 

iforS?          ^e  same  basis  as  persons  of  white  blood.     But 

familiar  knowledge  informs  us  how  ineffectual 

statutory  law  is  to  control  public  opinion  in  matters  of 

social  usage,  and  it  is  no  great  exaggeration  of  the  matter 


90  The  Negro  Problem 

to  say  that  the  negro  is  in  the  great  communities  of  the 
North  practically  a  social  outlaw.  Let  us  look  over  some 
of  the  divisions  of  the  great  field  of  social  life  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  what  in  this  regard  is  his  actual  condition. 

To  begin  with,  as  to  his  place  of  residence.  In  Southern 
cities  the  negro  quarter  usually  forms  a  distinct  and  well 
marked  locality.  In  the  North  alike,  even  in  the  smaller 
cities  and  towns,  the  negroes  of  necessity  congregate  in 
certain  fixed  localities,  a  section  once  given  over  to  their 
occupancy  seeming  to  become  permanently  set  apart  for 
that  purpose.  In  the  larger  cities  the  problem  of  the  housing 
of  the  negro  is  a  very  serious  one,  and  is  a  matter  of  gravest 
consequence  to  the  well-being  and,  indeed,  to  the  continued 
existence  of  the  race. 

The  negroes,  as  is  well  known,  are  usually  herded  to 
gether  in  particular  sections  almost  exclusively  devoted  to 
their  abode,  and  they  bitterly  complain  of  being  compelled 
to  live  by  themselves  amidst  cheerless  and  disreputable 
surroundings.  "Ninety-nine  percent,  of  the  white  owners," 
complained  a  paper  read  at  the  last  convention  of  the  National 
Negro  Business  League,  "regard  all  negroes  alike,  making 
no  distinctions  between  the  decent  and  the  disreputable." 

In  these  negro  districts  the  only  recommendations  required 
of  a  person  seeking  to  rent  property  are  a  black  face  and  a 
month's  rent.  If  some  aspiring  black  man  desiring  to  live 
in  a  first  class  neighborhood  in  a  Northern  city  purchases 
property  for  that  purpose,  the  transaction  brings  dismay 
and  consternation  to  all  neighboring  residents  and  property 
owners  in  the  section  affected.  Occasionally,  as  an  ex 
hibition  of  spite  on  the  part  of  some  disgruntled  property 
owner,  he  advertises  his  property  situated  in  some  aristo 
cratic  neighborhood  for  occupation  by  a  colored  family. 
If,  indeed,  under  favorable  circumstances,  a  negro  family 
should  be  able  to  establish  itself  amidst  pleasant  surroundings 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       91 

in  a  neighborhood  occupied  by  white  people,  social  ostracism 
of  the  most  absolute  character  is  the  invariable  result. 

Second,  as  to  educational  facilities.  While  our  higher 
universities  profess  to  open  their  doors  to  all,  and  some  few 

.negroes  have  been  honored  with  their  degrees, 
Educational   , 
Opportu-      the  atmosphere  of  such  institutions  is  absolutely 

ies"  unfavorable,  and  a  growing  dislike  to  the  negro 
renders  his  presence  in  such  institutions  practically  im 
possible.  "No  negro,"  says  Professor  Du  Bois,  "has  ever 
been  admitted  to  Princeton,  and  in  the  other  leading  Northern 
institutions  they  are  rather  endured  than  encouraged." 

The  experience  of  West  Point  and  Annapolis  in  endeavor 
ing  to  graduate  negro  students  for  service  in  the  army  and 
navy  should  be  chilling  in  its  repression  of  the  aspirations 
of  the  African  race.  Harvard  alone  of  the  leading  institu 
tions  of  the  North  appears  to  encourage,  in  some  small 
measure,  the  desire  of  the  negro  to  seek  higher  educational 
opportunities  in  the  same  class-room  with  the  white  student. 
But  the  few  black  students  attending  in  her  lecture  halls 
serve  only  to  give  illustration  to  the  feeling  that  excludes 
the  members  of  the  race  from  education  in  common  with 
students  of  Caucasian  blood. 

The  great  insurance  companies  are  restricting  risks  upon 
negroes'  lives,  and  only  last  winter  one  of  the  largest  in 
stitutions  of  this  character  announced  its  future  policy  to  be 
to  accept  no  risks  upon  persons  of  the  African  race. 

Third,  the  great  fraternal  insurance  organizations,  with 
upwards  of  five  millions  of  American  men  joined  together 
Fraternal  f°r  fraternal  and  beneficent  purposes,  and  doing 
Associations.  so  great  a  work  in  promoting  the  principles  of 
brotherhood  among  men,  rigidly  exclude  the  negro  from  their 
benefits.  The  Royal  Arcanum,  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Improved 
Order  Heptasophs,  Foresters,  all  alike  by  the  constitution  of 


92  The  Negro  Problem 

their  organizations  confine  their  benefits  to  white  men.  Even 
the  Masonic  institution,  synonymous  almost  in  the  common 
speech  with  an  all-embracing  brotherhood  of  man,  regards 
lodges  of  negroes,  if  recognition  be  given  at  all,  as  "clan 
destine,"  and  therefore  not  entitled  to  Masonic  communion 
or  to  be  accorded  Masonic  rites  and  privileges. 

We  may  yet  go  farther.  An  experiment  in  practical 
socialism  by  the  establishment  of  a  community  under  the 
leadership  of  a  celebrated  author  and  exponent  of  the  most 
advanced  socialistic  ideas  was  attempted  in  New  Jersey  in 
the  year  1906.  Professing  the  most  liberal  creed  and  en 
deavoring  to  exclude  no  workmen  being  by  any  possibility 
eligible  for  membership,  it  was  yet  found  necessary  to  in 
sert  as  a  condition  of  membership  that  the  applicant  should 
be  white.  An  official  announcement  of  the  reason  for 
this  discrimination  has  been  made  to  the  effect  that  the  color 
provision  was  inserted  not  because  any  objection  was  enter 
tained  against  negroes  on  theory,  but  because  it  was  deemed 
injudicious  to  invite  avoidable  difficulties  in  addition  to  those 
which  would  have  of  necessity  to  be  encountered  in  the 
course  of  organization.  In  other  words,  even  in  advanced 
socialism  the  negro  is  an  impossible  element. 

Fourth,  the  social  isolation  of  the  negro  is  extended  even 
into  the  domain  of  religion.  The  politician  may  plead  in 
Religious  extenuation  of  his  exclusion  from  public  office 
Exclusion,  ^at  the  negro  -vote  is  inconsiderable,  or  that 
as  a  candidate  his  race  character  is  a  disqualification.  The 
labor  union  may  justify  its  action  in  refusing  him  its  benefits 
on  the  ground  of  his  unskilfulness  and  unreliability.  The 
fraternal  order  may  reject  his  membership  as  involving 
undesirable  risk  or  as  inviting  social  dissension.  But  upon 
what  plausible  theory  can  he  possibly  be  regarded  as  an  in 
truder  in  religious  organizations  founded  upon  the  vital 
principle  of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  resulting  brother- 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       93 

hood  of  man,  organizations  whose  fundamental  precepts 
require  a  belief  in  the  inspired  pronouncement  that  "God 
hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men"?  Yet  the  sad 
truth  remains  that  in  no  relation  of  life  is  his  segregation 
more  complete  and  the  color  line  more  rigorously  drawn 
than  in  the  Christian  churches  dedicated  to  the  teaching 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  perfect  equality  of  all  races  and  all 
colors  at  the  altar  and  communion  table.  It  has  been  found 
necessary  to  separate  the  races  throughout  the  country 
wherever  the  negroes  are  found  in  any  considerable  pro 
portion,  and  to  establish  distinct  church  organizations  for 
each. 

Thus  we  have  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  the  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  at  the  latest 
General  Episcopal  Convention,  held  at  Richmond,  Virginia, 
October,  1907,  the  principal  subject  of  discussion  was  the 
proposition  introduced  by  the  Arkansas  delegation  recom 
mending  the  appointment  of  negro  bishops  to  preside  over 
the  members  of  African  blood.  Even  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  maintains  what  is  euphemistically 
called  "a  colored  branch,"  where  the  humble  black  man 
may  in  enforced  separation  be  taught  the  tenets  of  a  religion 
whose  fundamental  conception  is  that  of  the  perfect  brother 
hood  of  mankind. 

Occasionally  we  find  a  man  with  the  courage  of  his  con 
victions  who  recognizes  the  fact  that,  for  good  or  evil,  race 
antagonism  is  too  powerful  to  be  overcome  even  by  religious 
devotion,  and  who  has  the  perspicacity  to  maintain  that  the 
separation  of  the  races  is  essential  to  church  harmony. 
Such  a  man  is  the  Reverend  George  R.  Van  De  Water,  the 
Rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Episcopal  Church,  Fifth  Avenue  and 
1 27th  Street,  New  York,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  influ 
ential  churches  of  the  city,  who  has  put  into  practical  opera 
tion  his  pronounced  theory  that  "it  is  not  best  that  white 


94  The  Negro  Problem 

and  black  people  should  be  in  Sunday-school  or  in  church 
on  a  plane  of  equality  of  privilege." 

Apart  from  all  theory,  in  New  York  separation  is  the 
almost  universal  practice.  Visits  made  by  the  writer  to 
many  of  the  most  prominent  churches  in  the  city  during  the 
winter  of  1906-7  revealed  the  fact  that  the  presence  of  a 
negro  in  any  congregation  was  exceptional.  Not  one  was 
seen  at  the  meeting  of  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  at 
Carnegie  Hall,  at  Dr.  Parkhurst's  Madison  Avenue  Temple, 
at  Holy  Trinity,  or  at  the  Central  Congregational  Church, 
in  Brooklyn.  At  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn,  on  March  10, 
1907,  in  a  congregation  of  some  2500  people  attracted  by 
the  fame  and  the  preaching  of  a  remarkable  evangelist, 
seven  negroes  occupied  inconspicuous  seats  in  the  rear  of 
the  church.  This  is  the  historic  Beecher  church,  from  the 
platform  of  which  the  se'nsational  auction  of  the  slave  girl 
formed  a  dramatic  incident  of  the  anti-slavery  conflict. 
Within  fifteen  minutes'  walk  of  the  church  there  live  10,000 
negroes,  easily  25,000  within  a  half-hour's  ride.  Under 
such  circumstances  the  absence  of  negroes  indicates  with 
eloquent  force  the  unbending  strictness  with  which  the  color 
line  is  observed. 

But  why  continue  to  discuss  a  self-evident  proposition? 
The  social  isolation  of  the  negro,  North  and  South,  is  an 
established  fact.  At  the  church  and  in  the  armory,  at  the 
hotel,  the  theatre,  the  lodge,"  and  the  social  gathering,  wher 
ever  white  men  and  women  assemble  on  terms  of  social 
equality,  the  negro  finds  an  insurmountable  barrier  of  racial 
aversion  forbidding  his  entrance.  The  higher  the  grade  of 
refinement  and  the  more  cultivated  the  character  of  the 
whites,  the  more  rigid  is  the  social  exclusion  of  the  people 
of  the  disregarded  race. 

This  incomplete  survey  serves  to  indicate  with  sufficient 
accuracy  the  actual  condition  of  the  negro  race  in  the  United 


Present  Condition  of  Negro  Race       95 

States,  North  and  South.  This  dependent  people  stands 
as  a  thing  apart,  participating  only  in  the  slightest  degree 
Summary  of  'm  the  political  and  industrial  life  of  the  corn- 
Results,  munity;  possessing  but  little  property,  displaying 
but  slight  industrial  advancement,  and  condemned  by  the 
white  race  to  absolute  social  exclusion. 

It  may  be  that  the  facts  set  forth  in  this  chapter  are  suffi 
ciently  familiar  to  many  readers,  but  the  purpose  of  their 
special  introduction  at  this  place  is  to  emphasize  the  thought 
that  so  far  as  the  solution  of  the  negro  problem  upon  the 
practical  lines  hereinafter  proposed  is  concerned,  there  need 
be  no  misgivings  upon  the  subject  based  upon  the  impression 
that  the  negro  constitutes  any  integral  part  of  this  com 
posite  American  nation.  Alien  in  his  beginning,  alien  in 
his  present  status,  inferior  by  his  present  condition,  inferior 
in  his  social  and  industrial  standing,  unassimilable  in  blood, 
unassimilable  in  thought,  unassimilable  in  social  station,  he 
stands  isolated,  aloof,  and  despised,  a  disregarded  victim  of 
the  spirit  of  caste,  knocking  in  vain  at  the  door  of  opportu 
nity,  unprovided  with  the  magic  word  "sesame,"  the 
utterance  of  which  causes  it  to  spring  open  for  all  others. 


CHAPTER  V 

ILLUSTRATIVE  PHASES  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

By  looking  back  into  history,  and  considering  the  fate  and  revolu 
tions  of  government,  you  will  be  able  to  draw  a  guess,  and 
almost  prophesy  upon  the  future;  for  they  will  certainly  be 
of  the  same  nature,  and  cannot  but  be  cast  in  the  same  mould. 
So  that  forty  years  of  human  life  may  serve  for  a  sample  of 
ten  thousand.  For  what  more  will  you  see? — Meditations 
of  Marcus  Aurelius. 

THE  general  plan  to  which  the  writer  will  endeavor  to 
adhere  in  the  presentation  of  his  subject,  is  to  state 
the  broad  facts  relating  to  the  character  of  the  problem  in 
an  orderly  manner,  and  to  lay  before  the  reader  the  principles 
underlying  the  plan  proposed  by  Lincoln  for  its  solution, 
without  entering  into  minute  details  or  special  illustrations 
of  any  feature  of  the  topic.  In  all  sections  of  the  country 
there  appears  to  be  a  disposition  evinced,  in  dealing  with 
the  negro  question,  to  evade  discussion  of  the  fundamental 
principles  involved  in  the  problem,  and  to  escape  any  final 
conclusion  by  digressing  from  the  main  subject  into  the 
discussion  of  some  immaterial  detail,  or  by  the  relating  of 
some  more  or  less  pertinent  incident  falling  under  the  ob 
servation  of  the  writer  or  speaker. 

Mr.  H.  G.  Wells,  the  English  traveller,  keenly  noted  this 
strong  disinclination  to  advance  any  definite  statement  in 
relation  to  the  negro's  future,  and  remarked  that  whenever 
he  interrogated  any  of  his  American  acquaintances  as  to  the 

96 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem      97 

ultimate  outcome  of  the  problem,  the  point  was  adroitly 
avoided  by  the  introduction  of  some  more  or  less  irrelevant 
anecdote  about  some  particular  negro,  or  by  the  drifting 
away  into  a  general  discussion  of  the  deficiencies  of  the  race. 

President  Booker  T.  Washington,  of  Tuskegee  Institute, 
studiously  assumes  the  same  attitude  whenever  called  upon 
to  state  his  conception  as  to  the  permanent  adjustment  of 
the  relation  between  the  races.  With  astonishing  cleverness 
he  finds  refuge  in  some  special  incident  which  has  just  come 
under  his  observation  as  typifying  the  progress  of  the  race. 
He  diverts  discussion  from  the  serious  issue  by  describing 
the  achievements  of  some  noted  Kansas  farmer  of  his  race, 
whose  production  of  potatoes  surpasses  in  size  and  quality 
those  of  any  other  grower  in  the  United  States,  or  enlightens 
his  audience  with  the  information  that  several  negro  banks 
have  recently  been  established  in  Alabama,  and  that  a  newly 
incorporated  negro  real-estate  company  in  Cleveland  is  mak 
ing  remarkable  progress  in  the  acquisition  of  suburban  prop 
erty.  While  he  states  the  present  condition  and  prospects 
of  his  race  with  admirably  optimistic  effect,  and  forcibly  ap 
peals  to  the  sympathy  of  his  hearers,  it  is  impossible  to  glean 
from  his  combination  of  anecdote,  statistics,  and  declama 
tion  any  indication  of  his  genuine  belief  as  to  the  future  of 
his  people. 

But  as  illustrations  lend  force  to  argument,  and  at  times 
impress  more  strongly  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader  the 
importance  of  a  special  feature  of  the  subject  than  any 
statement  based  upon  general  reasoning,  this  chapter  will 
be  devoted  to  the  presentation  of  some  illustrations  of  the 
character  and  gravity  of  the  problem,  tending  to  emphasize 
the  seriousness  of  the  present  situation,  and  the  impossi 
bility  of  effecting  any  solution  other  than  the  one  advocated 
by  Lincoln. 

i.  "The  villanyyou  teach  me,"  said  old  Shylock,  "I  will 


98  The  Negro  Problem 

execute,  and  it  shall  go  hard  but  I  will  better  the  instruction." 
Th  The  following  account  of  a  natural  outbreak  of 

Brownsville  race  animosity  indicates  that  the  negro,  given 
nt<  the  opportunity,  can  prove  himself  no  unapt 
pupil  in  the  school  of  violence  and  murderous  outrage. 

In  order  that  the  potency  of  race  antipathy  may  be  fully 
appreciated,  and  the  natural  result  of  placing  the  negro  in  a 
position  of  prominence  and  authority  in  a  white  community 
understood,  a  straightforward  narration  of  the  facts  at 
tending  the  riot  at  Brownsville,  Texas,  which  occurred  in 
the  summer  of  1906,  will  be  found  peculiarly  instructive. 
The  purpose  of  introducing  at  this  point  the  consideration 
of  this  much  discussed  incident  is  to  impress  upon  the  mind 
of  the  reader  the  utter  futility  of  attempting  to  ignore  the 
existence  of  racial  antipathy  in  any  examination  of  the 
negro  problem.  There  is  deep  significance  in  every  aspect 
of  this  transaction. 

On  August  13,  1906,  a  battalion  of  three  companies  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  Infantry,  composed  of  negroes,  was  stationed 
at  Brownsville,  Texas.  The  organization  was  one  of  long 
standing,  being  a  part  of  one  of  the  four  negro  regiments 
organized  under  an  act  of  Congress  shortly  after  the  Civil 
War.  The  battalion  was  possessed  of  a  good  reputation 
for  gallantry  and  soldierly  conduct,  although  some  serious 
complaints  arising  from  race  difficulties  had  theretofore 
been  made  of  its  misconduct,  in  other  localities  where  it  had 
been  stationed.  It  had  been  assigned  to  duty  at  various 
points  in  the  North  and  West,  and  was  composed  of  a  class 
of  carefully  selected  negroes,  who,  by  natural  qualifications 
and  acquired  training,  were  much  superior  to  the  average 
members  of  the  race. 

Let  us  see  what  happened  on  this  night  in  question.  Lest 
it  be  considered  that  the  facts  relating  to  the  affair  might 
be  too  .  strongly  presented  by  the  writer,  the  description  of 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       99 

the  incident  by  President  Roosevelt,  contained  in  his  mes 
sage  to  Congress  of  December  19,  1906,  is  quoted: 

It  appears  that  in  Brownsville,   the  city  immediately 
beside  which  Fort  Brown  is  situated,  there  had  been  con 
siderable  feeling  between  the  citizens  and  the 
Feeling 
between       colored     troops     ot     the     garrison     companies. 

Citizens  and  Difficuities   had   occurred,    there   being   a   con- 
Soldiers.        n . 

met  of  evidence  as  to  whether  the  citizens  or 

the  colored  troops  were  to  blame.  My  impression  is  that, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  these  difficulties  there  was  blame 
attached  to  both  sides;  but  that  is  a  wholly  unimportant 
matter  for  our  present  purpose,  as  nothing  that  occurred 
offered  in  any  shape  or  way  an  excuse  or  justification  for 
the  atrocious  conduct  of  the  troops  when,  in  lawless  and 
murderous  spirit,  they  made  their  attack  upon  the  citizens. 
The  attack  was  made  near  midnight  on  August  i3th. 
The  following  facts  as  to  this  attack  are  made  clear  by 
Major  Blocksom's  investigation,  and  have  not  been,  in  my 
judgment,  and  cannot  be,  successfully  controverted. 
From  nine  to  fifteen  or  twenty  of  the  colored  soldiers 
took  part  in  the  attack.  They  leaped  over  the  walls 
from  the  barracks  and  hurried  through  the  town.  They 
shot  at  whomsoever  they  saw  moving,  and  they  shot 
into  houses  where  they  saw  lights.  In  some  of  these 
houses  there  were  women  and  children,  as  the  would-be 
murderers  must  have  known.  In  one  house  in  which 
there  were  two  women  and  five  children,  some  ten 
shots  went  through  at  a  height  of  about  four  and  a  half 
feet  above  the  floor,  one  putting  out  the  lamp  upon  the 
table.  The  lieutenant  of  police  of  the  town  heard  the 
firing  and  rode  toward  it.  He  met  the  raiders,  who,  as  he 
stated,  were  about  fifteen  colored  soldiers.  They  in 
stantly  started  firing  upon  him.  He  turned  and  rode 
off,  and  they  continued  firing  upon  him  until  they  had 
killed  his  horse.  They  shot  him  in  the  right  arm  (it  was 
afterwards  amputated  above  the  elbow).  A  number  of 


ioo  The  Negro  Problem 

shots  were  also  fired  at  two  other  policemen.  The  raiders 
fired  several  times  into  a  hotel,  some  of  the  shots  being 
aimed  at  a  guest  sitting  by  a  window.  They  shot  into  a 
saloon,  killing  the  bartender  and  wounding  another  man. 

At  the  same  time  'other  raiders  fired  into  another  house 
in  which  women  and  children  were  sleeping,  two  of  the  shots 
going  over  the  bed  in  which  two  children  were  lying.  Several 
other  houses  were  struck  by  bullets.  It  was  at  night,  and  the 
streets  of  the  town  are  poorly  lighted,  so  that  none  of  the 
individual  raiders  were  recognized;  but  the  evidence  of  many 
witnesses  of  all  classes  was  conclusive  to  the  effect  that  the 
raiders  were  negro  soldiers.  The  scattered  bullets,  shells 
and  clips  of  the  government  rifles,  which  were  found  on  the 
ground,  are  merely  corroborative.  So  are  the  bullet  holes 
in  the  houses;  some  of  which  it  appears  must,  from  the  di 
rection,  have  been  -fired  from  the  fort  just  at  the  moment  when 
the  soldiers  left  it.  Not  a  bullet  hole  appears  in  any  of 
the  structures  of  the  fort. 

The  townspeople  were  completely  surprised  by  the 
unprovoked  and  murderous  savagery  of  the  attack.  The 
soldiers  were  the  aggressors  from  start  to  finish.  They 
met  with  no  substantial  resistance,  and  one  and  all  who 
took  part  in  that  raid  stand  as  deliberate  murderers,  who 
did  murder  one  man,  who  tried  to  murder  others,  and 
who  tried  to  murder  women  and  children.  The  act  was 
one  of  horrible  atrocity,  and,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  unparal 
leled  for  infamy  in  the  annals  of  the  United  States  Army. 

Subsequent  investigation  of  the  most  searching  character 
has  but  served  to  verify  the  accuracy  of  the  above  statement, 
and  the  resulting  action  of  the  President  in  dismissing  the 
entire  battalion  from  the  service,  when  it  was  made  to 
appear  that  a  conspiracy  of  silence  on  the  part  of  all  its 
members,  for  the  purpose  of  shielding  the  guilty,  existed, 
has  been  upheld  by  the  Senate,  and  has  met  the  commen 
dation  of  the  country  at  large. 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       101 

The  causes  of  this  murderous  onslaught  upon  a  peaceful, 
sleeping  community  are  not  far  to  seek.  They  had  their 
origin  in  the  rancorous  hatred  of  the  superior  race,  engendered 
by  the  contumelious  treatment  to  which  the  soldiers  of  the 
negro  command  had  been  subjected  at  that  post,  as  well  as 
at  their  former  stations.  The  evidence  produced  on  the 
investigation  of  this  atrocious  violation  of  law  established 
the  fact  that,  from  their  arrival  at  Brownsville,  the  members 
of  the  battalion  had  been  made  to  feel  that  their  presence 
was  not  desired,  and  that  they  had  been  subjected  to  every 
manner  of  race  discrimination.  Several  affrays  or  alterca 
tions  had  occurred  between  members  of  the  organization 
and  citizens  and  officials  of  the  community. 

The  negro  soldiers  had  been  refused  accommodations  at 
the  hotels,  barber  shops,  and  bar-rooms  of  the  town,  and  the 
various  indignities  which  they  had  sustained  led  them  to 
this  vindictive  retaliation.  Having  more  than  the  ordinary 
intelligence  of  the  members  of  their  race,  and  feeling  the 
natural  spirit  of  superiority  which  rightfully  belongs  to  the 
wearer  of  the  uniform  of  a  soldier  of  the  United  States,  they 
could  not  brook  the  repeated  insults  to  which  they  were 
being  subjected;  insults  which  the  ordinary  Southern  negro 
would  have  regarded  as  the  inseparable  incidents  of  his 
condition.  The  reasons  which  prompted  them  to  execute 
revenge  upon  the  citizens  of  Brownsville  are  clearly  set  forth 
in  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  negro  citizens  of  Boston 
and  vicinity  at  a  numerously  attended  meeting  held  at 
Faneuil  Hall,  for  the  purpose  of  remonstrating  against  the 
action  of  the  President  in  'dismissing  the  entire  battalion 
from  the  service  without  honor: 

Brooding  on  repeated  insults  and  outrages,  a  few  of  these 
colored  soldiers  went  into  the  town  with  their  guns,  determined 
The  to  do  for  themselves  what  the  uniform  of  their 

Resolution,  country  could  not  do  for  them,  and  what  the 


102  The  Negro  Problem 

police  power  of  white  Brownsville  would  not  do  for  them, 
namely,  to  protect  them  from  such  insults  and  outrages,  and 
to  punish  at  the  same  time  the  authors  of  their  miseries. 

They  had,  indeed,  bettered  their  instructions.  Doubtless 
in  the  North  they  would  have  been  received  at  any  military 
station  with  something  less  of  active  contumely,  but  even 
at  Fort  Sheridan,  Sacketts  Harbor,  Fort  Hamilton,  or  any 
other  Northern  post,  they  would,  in  greater  or  less  degree, 
have  been  made  to  feel  that  their  presence  was  disagreeable 
alike  to  officers,  soldiers,  and  citizens. 

The  end  of  this  incident  is  not  yet.  For  over  two  years 
the  negro's  grievance  arising  out  of  the  Brownsville  occur 
rence  has  been  the  staple  topic  of  discussion  among  the 
members  of  the  race,  and  the  animosity  generated  by  the 
affair  will  not  readily  be  allayed.  It  has  alienated  their 
affection  for  the  President,  who,  by  social  courtesies  ex 
tended  to  a  prominent  member  of  the  race,  as  well  as  by 
numerous  expressions  of  interest  in  their  welfare,  had  won 
their  loving  admiration.  It  has  brought  upon  the  party 
which  the  voters  of  negro  blood  habitually  support,  de 
nunciations  for  its  cowardice  and  perfidy  in  failing  to  cham 
pion  the  cause  of  the,  to  them,  unjustly  accused  members 
of  the  disbanded  battalion.  It  menaced  the  prospects  of 
the  Republican  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  the  recent 
election  by  the  possible  defection  of  the  31,420  negro  voters 
of  New  York,  the  18,186  of  Indiana,  and  the  21,474  of  New 
Jersey.  For  years  to  come  the  evil  effects  of  the  Browns 
ville  episode  will  remain,  a  source  of  irritation  to  the  negro 
by  reason  of  the  fancied  injustice  of  the  Government  toward 
the  race,  and  a  standing  argument  in  the  hands  of  the  enemies 
of  the  black  man  in  favor  of  his  complete  exclusion  from 
the  military  forces  of  the  nation.  When  the  convention  of 
negro  Methodist  Bishops,  assembled  at  Washington  last 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       103 

winter,  representing  substantially  the  entire  negro  church 
membership  of  the  country,  advises  the  churches  under 
its  jurisdiction  to  shape  their  political  action  solely  with 
respect  to  the  Brownsville  episode,  what  further  evidence 
is  needed  of  the  dominance  of  the  race  issue  in  that  religious 
organization  ? 

The  lesson  to  be  drawn  from  this  gruesome  incident  is 
that  of  the  dangerous  result  of  entrusting  power  to  the  mem 
bers  of  an  inferior  race,  and  expecting  its  exercise  to  be 
respected  by  those  of  another  strain  of  blood,  conscious  of 
their  superior  qualifications.  With  the  general  advance 
ment  of  the  negro  to  official  position  in  proportion  to  his 
numbers,  the  disgraceful  Brownsville  episode  would  soon 
be  followed  by  many  of  kindred  character,  and  the  problem 
of  the  color  line  would  assume  a  more  intense  character. 

2.  As  stated  in  the  opening  chapter  of  this  work,  the  negro 
problem  outclasses  all  others,  not  only  in  its  inscrutable 
Literature  cnaracter>  but  as  well  in  its  permanent  relation 

of  the  to  the  sociological  literature  of  the  country. 
Problem.  T  ,  .  .  .  , 

It  may  be  that  at  some  particular  time  some  other 

question  (as  in  the  present  years  the  question  of  the  regula 
tion  of  predatory  wealth)  may  occupy  a  larger  portion  of 
space  in  the  literature  of  current  discussion,  but  considering 
the  average  of  the  years  as  they  pass,  in  book,  magazine,  and 
newspaper  discussion,  the  negro  problem  commands  the 
most  prominent  attention.  The  output  on  the  subject  is 
enormous. 

In  1906,  the  Government  printing  office  issued  a  pamphlet 
giving  a  selected  list  of  references  on  the  negro  question, 
embracing  only  the  comparatively  recent  works  on  the 
subject,  and  not  attempting  to  present  the  entire  bibliography 
of  the  period.  In  this  pamphlet  were  enumerated  313 
separate  works  in  book  form,  devoted  to  the  general  dis 
cussion  of  the  negro  problem  in  its  varying  relations.  This 


104  The  Negro  Problem 

is  supplemented  by  a  list  of  articles  published  in  periodicals 
numbering  291,  of  which  273  have  been  published  within 
the  last  ten  years,  all  bearing  upon  this  vexatious  but  ab 
sorbing  topic,  and  indicating  the  tremendous  interest  which 
it  evokes. 

The  present  writer,  during  a  comparatively  brief  study 
of  the  question,  and  without  seeking  to  prepare  a  specially 
elaborate  collection  of  material,  has  accumulated  six  large 
scrap-books  of  newspaper  articles  appearing  day  by  day, 
discussing  the  various  aspects  of  the  negro's  relation  to  the 
nation's  life.  Scarcely  a  daily  issue  of  one  of  our  large 
newspapers,  North  or  South,  can  be  examined  without  finding 
some  news  item,  editorial,  or  communication,  presenting 
the  views  of  the  writer  as  to  the  proper  treatment  or  dis 
position  of  the  members  of  the  African  race.  The  negro 
himself  contributes  voluminously  to  the  discussion,  with  a 
certain  bitter  tinge  of  feeling  to  his  disputation,  indicative 
of  his  dissatisfaction  with  present  conditions. 

The  following  display  headings  copied  from  the  first  page 
of  the  New  York  Times,  of  Wednesday,  December  26,  1906, 
fairly  illustrate  the  attention  that  conservative  newspaper 
deemed  it  necessary  to  give  the  Christmas  record  of  the  negro 
for  that  year: 

WHITES  IN  RACE  WAR  KILL  BLACKS  BLINDLY;  Innocent 
Negroes  Shot  in  the  Mississippi  Trouble;  Soldiers  Left  the 
County;  Angered  by  Slights,  Militiamen  Abandoned  the 
Field  to  Disorder;  Are  Ordered  Back;  Two  Whites 
Slain. 

NEGRO  TROOPS  ATTACK  A  LEAVENWORTH  CAR;  Members 
of  Ninth  Cavalry  Hurl  Stones  at  White  Soldiers;  Three 
Men  are  Arrested;  Two  More  to  be  Locked  up;  Trouble 
Starts  over  Disputed  Carfare;  No  Shots  Fired. 

CUBAN  NEGROES  RAIDING;  More  Troops  Sent  to  Santa 
Clara  Province  to  Restore  Order. 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       105 

SLAIN  AT  SOLDIERS'  FEAST;  Corporal  of  Ninth  Negro 
Cavalry  Shot  by  a  Sergeant  at  Fort  Sheridan. 

LEITER  AUTO  KILLS  A  BOY;  Negro  Lad  in  Washington 
Jumps  in  Front  of  a  Big  Car. 

SILLY,  SAYS  FORAKER;  His  Remarks  on  the  Story  of 
the  President's  Defiance. 

These  surely  afford  a  sufficient  indication  that  the  negro 
problem  is  greatly  in  evidence  in  the  pages  of  the  newspaper 
of  the  time. 

3.  The  result  of  the  racial  antipathy  between  the  Caucasian 
and  the  African  manifests  itself  in  the  social  isolation  of  the 
The  Social  negro>  a  condition  of  the  problem  which  may 
Isolation  of  be  observed  in  all  sections  of  our  country.  Dur 
ing  the  past  five  years  the  writer  has  had  occa 
sion  to  visit  the  principal  American  cities  from  Boston  to 
St.  Louis  and  from  Milwaukee  to  Norfolk,  and  excepting 
upon  three  or  four  occasions  has  never  seen  whites  and 
negroes  associating  upon  what  might  be  described  as  even 
an  apparent  condition  of  social  equality.  If  any  reader 
will  essay  the  task  of  observing  the  conduct  and  demeanor 
of  the  two  races  as  they  meet  in  stores,  on  the  street,  or  in 
the  cars,  he  will  immediately  note  the  isolation  of  the  negro 
and  the  instinctive  aversion  with  which  the  white  person 
regards  his  African  fellow-citizen.  Note,  if  you  will,  the 
instinctive  shrinking  of  the  refined  American  woman  as  an 
individual  of  the  negro  race  takes  his  place  beside  her  in  a 
crowded  car,  and  you  will  get  a  reasonably  clear  perception 
of  the  repugnance  existing  wherever  the  two  races  are  brought 
into  contact.  Even  in  the  lowest  class  of  society,  how  in 
frequently  do  we  observe  members  of  the  two  races  associating 
together. 

Mr.  George  S.  Merriam,  in  his  work  on  The  Negro  and 
the  Nation  (page  407),  describes  a  remarkable  occurrence, 
in  which  he  narrates  how  a  Springfield  lawyer  (presumably 


io6  The  Negro  Problem 

white),  "meeting  in  Philadelphia  an  old  classmate  in  the 
Law  School,  accepted  his  invitation  to  dinner  at  his  board 
ing  house,  and  there  found  himself  among  a  score  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  all  dark-skinned,  elegant  in  dress  and 
manners,  agreeable  in  conversation,  and  meeting  their  guest 
with  entire  ease  and  composure."  It  is,  of  course,  quite 
within  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  some  such  incident 
actually  took  place,  but  it  imposes  a  tremendous  strain  upon 
the  credulity  of  his  readers  to  ask  them  to  believe  that  the 
guest  found  any  special  enjoyment  in  his  unusual  surround 
ings,  or  that  he  felt  impelled  to  renew  his  association  upon 
subsequent  visits. 

A  circumstance  narrated  to  the  writer  a  few  months  ago 
by  a  young  New  York  lawyer,  a  man  of  college  training  and 
high  character,  fairly  illustrates  the  strength  of  this  racial 
antipathy  and  the  impossibility  of  the  negro  and  the  white 
man  interchanging  social  courtesies.  He  says: 

It  chanced  that  I  found  myself  in  an  unfamiliar,  modest 
restaurant  at  the  luncheon  hour.  I  had  seated  myself  and 
the  waiter  had  just  served  my  order,  and  with  good  appe 
tite  I  was  about  to  enjoy  my  midday  meal,  when  there 
entered  two  negroes,  fairly  well  dressed,  gentlemanly 
in  their  conduct,  evidently  above  the  ordinary  laboring 
class,  and,  as  I  should  judge,  clerks  or  small  business  men. 
I  observed  that  my  waiter  did  his  best  to  convince  them 
that  there  was  no  room  for  them,  but  observing  two  un 
occupied  seats  at  my  table,  they  placed  themselves  opposite 
to  me  and  proceeded  to  give  the  waiter  their  orders.  The 
effect  of  their  presence  so  close  at  hand  did  not  tend  to  give 
zest  to  my  appetite.  Abruptly  ending  my  meal,  I  arose 
and,  calling  the  waiter,  paid  my  bill  and  departed.  As  I 
left  the  table  the  negroes  instinctively  noted  the  situation, 
but  I  could  not  overcome  my  dislike  to  their  presence  at 
my  table.  The  waiter  said  to  me,  "I  am  sorry,  sir,  but 
I  couldn't  help  it,  they  just  took  those  seats."  I  felt 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       107 

sorry  for  them,  sorry  for  the  waiter,  and  ashamed  of  myself 
as  an  American  gentleman,  but  the  fact  remained  that  the 
repugnance  to  their  presence  was  not  to  be  overcome. 

4.  Beyond  question  the  most  notable  educational  achieve 
ment  accomplished  by  the  negro  up  to  the  present  time 
Tuskegee  is  the  establishment  of  the  Tuskegee  Institute 
Institute.  ancj  Normal  School  at  Tuskegee,  Macon  County, 
Alabama,  near  the  centre  of  that  state  and  in  the  heart  of 
the  "Black  Belt"  of  the  South.  This  school,  the  result  of 
negro  aspiration  and  Northern  assistance,  is  easily  the 
leading  negro  educational  institution  of  the  country.  By 
the  census  of  1900  the  population  of  Macon  County  was 
23,126,  divided  as  follows:  whites — 4,252;  negroes — 
18,874;  nearly  four  and  one  half  negroes  to  each  white 
person. 

The  high  purpose  of  Tuskegee  is  to  give  to  the  negro 
youth  of  the  South,  in  conjunction  with  religious  and  aca 
demic  instruction,  industrial  training,  and  especially  to  incul 
cate  among  its  students  ideas  of  cleanliness  of  life,  economy, 
thrift,  and  the  dignity  of  manual  labor.  The  purpose  is 
noble,  the  methods  adopted  are  appropriate,  the  success 
has  been  marvellous,  and  the  fame  of  the  institution  has 
spread  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Year  by  year, 
President  Washington  and  his  efficient  associates  are  sending 
forth  from  this  Alabama  institution  a  corps  of  young  negro 
men  and  women,  qualified  to  become  leaders  of  their  people 
in  all  sections  of  the  land,  and  to  do  missionary  work  for 
the  elevation  of  the  standard  of  negro  life  and  morals.  Here 
is  a  great  object-lesson  in  standards  of  living  and  thinking 
for  the  race;  an  educational  foundation  having  cost  upwards 
of  half  a  million  dollars,  with  an  annual  expenditure  of 
$100,000  for  teaching  purposes;  an  assemblage  of  1500 
students  in  its  various  departments,  with  a  pedagogic  staff 
of  over  one  hundred  black  men  and  women  devoting  them- 


io8  The  Negro  Problem 

selves  to  the  elevation  of  the  ignorant  and  untrained  members 
of  the  race. 

In  Macon  County,  by  the  census  of  1900,  there  were  3782 
negroes  of  voting  age, — President  Washington  and  the  other 
officials  of  the  Institute  doubtless  being  included.  Probably 
by  1906  there  were  4000,  embracing  many  students  of  the 
school  as  well  as  the  local  population. 

The  vote  for  Governor  the  last  mentioned  year  stood— 
Comer,  Democrat,  301;  Stratton,  Republican,  5. 

In  1904  the  vote  for  President  was  as  follows:  Parker, 
Democrat,  562;  Roosevelt,  Republican,  51.  In  1908,  Bryan, 
Democrat,  482;  Taft,  Republican,  38. 

Under  the  very  shadow  of  this  noble  Institute,  on  the  very 
spot  where  hope  of  negro  advancement  centres,  the  negro 
remains  in  a  hopeless  condition  of  disfranchisement  as 
doubtless  the  few  Republican  votes  represent  the  white 
voters  of  the  county. 

In  another  chapter  graphic  illustration  will  be  given  of 
how  the  intensity  of  the  race  antipathy  in  the  community 
surrounding  this  excellent  training  school  focuses  itself  on 
the  institution,  and  with  what  scrupulous  care  the  negro 
must  observe  his  position  of  subordination  in  order  not  to 
call  down  upon  him  the  active  antagonism  of  the  superior 
race.  It  would  occasion  no  surprise  in  the  minds  of  persons 
well  informed  upon  the  darker  aspects  of  the  negro  problem, 
to  learn  at  any  time  that  the  Institute  had  been  made  an 
object  of  mob  violence,  and  that  the  hostile  white  population 
had  applied  the  torch  to  the  numerous  and  expensive  build 
ings  so  well  adapted  to  the  industrial  education  of  the  negro 
race.  The  writer  long  hesitated  before  making  this  statement 
of  such  an  abhorrent  possibility,  but  finding  the  same  thought 
expressed  in  an  essay  by  an  eminent  Southern  student  of 
the  problem,  he  desires  to  express  this  as  his  well  considered 
opinion  upon  the  subject. 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       109 

At  the  Republican  State  Convention  of  Ohio,  assembled 
on  the  4th  of  March,  1908,  the  following  resolution  was 
adopted : 

The  civil  and  political  rights  of  the  American  negro  in 
every  state  should  be  sustained ;  believing  as  we  do  that  his 
marvellous  progress  in  intelligence,  industry,  and  good 
citizenship  has  earned  the  respect  and  encouragement  of 
the  nation  and  that  those  legislative  enactments  that  have 
for  their  real  aim  his  disfranchisement  for  reasons  of  color 
alone  are  unfair,  un-American,  and  repugnant  to  the  su 
preme  law  of  the  land,  we  favor  the  reduction  of  repre 
sentation  in  Congress  and  the  Electoral  College  in  all  the 
states  of  this  Union  where  white  and  colored  citizens  are 
disfranchised,  to  the  end  that  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  may  be  enforced 
according  to  its  letter  and  spirit. 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  resolutions  of  this  character 
are  adopted  merely  as  political  buncombe,  and,  conceived 
in  hypocrisy,  are  never  intended  to  reach  the  stage  of  en 
forcement;  but  should  an  attempt  be  made  to  translate 
this  declaration,  which  doubtless  expresses  the  sincere 
views  of  a  large  element  of  the  voting  population  of 
Ohio,  into  political  action,  and  a  measure  be  adopted  by 
Congress  depriving  the  South  of  its  representation  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Electoral  College, 
as  therein  demanded,  with  the  first  attempt  at  the  enforce 
ment  of  such  an  enactment,  Tuskegee  would  cease  to  exist, 
and  no  negro  church,  schoolhouse,  factory,  farmhouse,  or 
cabin  would  be  safe  from  immediate  destruction.  The 
negro  in  the  South  holds  his  property  and  personal  rights 
wholly  dependent  upon  the  precarious  security  afforded  by 
the  ignoble  acquiescence  by  the  North  in  such  repressive 
measures  as  the  white  men  of  the  former  section  may 
choose  to  exert  against  the  politically  voiceless  blacks. 


no  The  Negro  Problem 

5.  We  have  described  the  negro  as  an  alien  element  of  our 
population.  A  stranger  he  is,  and  a  sojourner  in  the  land, 
Pro  ress  as  were  ^s  fathers  before  him.  The  years  of  his 
through  slavery  tend  to  confuse  our  perception  of  the 
paramount  fact  that  he  is  antipodally  different 
from  all  other  races  coming  to  our  shores. 

It  is  a  commonplace  to  ascribe  the  present  difficulty  to 
the  criminal  conduct  of  our  forefathers  in  bringing  the 
ancestors  of  our  present  negroes  to  the  country.  When  we 
pause  to  consider,  however,  that  the  African  slave-trade 
was  interdicted  by  the  Federal  Constitution  after  January 
i,  1808,  and  that  even  before  that  time  the  traffic  was  con 
fined  to  a  comparatively  few  traders,  it  is  evident  that  in  a 
strict  sense  but  few  of  us  can  personally  claim  descent  from 
those  who  in  any  way  participated  in  the  nefarious  occu 
pation.  Nor  is  it  entirely  clear  that  any  crime  was,  in  fact, 
committed.  Slavery  was  the  common  practice  of  the  age 
when  the  traffic  was  begun,  and  all  nations  took  part  in 
the  lucrative  commerce  in  human  commodities  without 
compunction,  and,  indeed,  without  a  suggestion  of  criminality. 

Let  the  truth-seeking  reader  examine  the  account  to  be 
found  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Macaulay's  History  of  England, 
of  the  sale  into  slavery  of  eight  hundred  and  forty-one 
Englishmen,  after  the  battle  of  Sedgemoor  (1685),  to  be 
worked  and  flogged  to  death  in  the  pestilential  West  Indian 
plantations,  and  let  him  consider  further  the  multitude  of 
white  men  who  were  transported  to  the  English  colonies  as 
redemptioners  or  leased  convicts,  before  deciding  ex  post 
facto  that  those  who  introduced  negroes  into  this  country 
were  guilty  of  moral  turpitude.  There  is  virtual  slavery 
enough  in  the  South  to-day,  and,  indeed,  in  the  heart  of  our 
teeming  Northern  cities,  to  make  us  pause  and  reflect  before 
we  assume  the  holier-than-thou  attitude  and  proceed  to 
denounce  the  actions  of  those  instrumental  in  introducing 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       in 

the  negro  to  the  benefits  of  our  civilization.  Are  we,  in  our 
day,  wiser  than  they  were  in  theirs? 

And  besides,  can  it  be  truly  said,  no  matter  how  sincerely 
we  may  reprobate  the  motives  which  inspired  the  slave-trader, 
that  to  remove  a  negro  savage  from  the  unutterable  degra 
dation  of  the  African  slave  coast,  and  to  set  his  feet  upon 
the  bottom  rounds  of  the  ladder  which  in  toilsome  fashion 
he  must  climb  to  reach  a  position  of  honor  and  usefulness, 
was  to  inflict  injury  either  upon  the  individual  or  the  race  ? 
Vast  as  was  the  waste  of  life  wrought  by  the  cruelty  of  the 
slave-catcher  and  the  infamies  of  the  Middle  Passage,  it  is 
doubtful  if  it  equalled,  in  its  terrible  features,  the  barbarous 
slaughter  so  common  among  the  savage  tribes  of  West  Africa, 
the  mere  narration  of  which  by  modern  travellers  staggers 
the  imagination. 

Adding  illustration  to  reasoning:  In  January,  1907,  Major 
Robert  R.  Moton,  the  Superintendent  of  Hampton  Insti 
tute,  addressed  an  audience  of  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred 
white  people  gathered  at  a  meeting  of  the  Armstrong  Asso 
ciation,  at  the  Heights  Casino  in  Brooklyn,  New  York  City. 
For  upwards  of  half  an  hour  he  held  the  attention  of  his 
audience,  while  in  simple  but  forcible  fashion  he  told  the 
story  of  his  rise  from  surroundings  of  poverty  and  igno 
rance  to  the  important  and  honorable  position  which  he  now 
occupies. 

In  the  beginning  he  told  the  story,  familiar  but  always 
picturesque,  of  how  his  African  ancestor  some  four  or  five 
generations  removed,  a  distinguished  chief  of  a  Senegambian 
tribe,  undertook  to  deliver  a  gang  of  slaves  to  a  trader  on 
the  coast,  and  how  by  treacherous  device  the  captor  was 
included  with  the  captives  in  the  horrors  of  the  voyage  to 
America.  Continuing  his  description,  and  vividly  de 
picting  the  development  of  his  ancestors  in  their  years  upon 
Virginian  soil,  he  told  his  auditors  how  with  emancipation 


n2  The  Negro  Problem 

an  opportunity  had  come  to  the  descendants  of  the  captured 
chief  still  further  to  increase  the  distance  separating  them 
from  his  condition  of  hopeless  savagery.  Said  he: 

While  I  do  not  appear  upon  this  platform  to-night  as 
a  eulogist  of  slavery,  nor  disposed  for  a  moment  to  con 
done  its  manifold  cruelties  and  crimes,  as  a  thinking  man 
I  cannot  fail  to  recognize  that  in  its  influence  upon  my  life 
through  ancestral  experiences  its  operation  has  been 
beneficial. 

Continuing,  the  speaker  elaborated  the  point  that  while 
in  Africa  the  negro  had  made  but  comparatively  feeble  prog 
ress  during  the  past  two  centuries,  in  the  same  period,  as  the 
outcome  of  the  operation  of  this  "sum  of  all  villanies," 
there  were  domiciled  in  this  country  nearly  ten  million  of 
the  African  race,  superior  in  education,  religion,  morals, 
and  material  development  to  all  other  negroes  upon  the  face 
of  the  globe. 

This  clear-sighted  representative  of  his  race  had  grasped 
the  deep  truth  of  the  proposition  that,  severe  as  was  the 
schooling  of  oppression  and  unrequited  toil,  the  experiences 
of  generations  of  servitude  had  laid  a  foundation  for  the 
continued  betterment  of  his  people.  The  same  thought 
is  expressed  by  John  C.  Reed  at  page  16  of  his  book,  The 
Brothers1  War,  where  he  observes: 

American  slavery  found  the  negro  gabbling  inarticulately 
and  gave  him  English ;  it  found  him  a  cannibal  and  fetishist 
and  gave  him  the  Christian  religion;  it  found  him  a  slave 
to  whom  his  savage  master  allowed  no  rights  at  all,  and  it 
gave  him  an  enlightened  master  bound  by  law  to  accord 
him  the  most  precious  human  rights;  it  found  him  an  in 
veterate  idler  and  gave  him  the  work  habit;  it  found  him 
promiscuous  in  the  horde  and  gave  him  the  benign  begin 
ning  of  the  monogamic  family, — in  short,  as  now  appears 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       113 

very  strongly  probable,  American  slavery  gave  him  his 
sole  opportunity  to  rise  above  the  barbarism  of  West 
Africa. 

6.  Great  nations  usually  possess  great  capitals.  At  the 
seat  of  government  naturally  centre  the  potent  influences 
of  political  life,  the  art,  the  architecture,  scien- 
Negro  tific  research,  financial  power,  the  best  of  the 
literature  and  society  of  the  nation.  To  the 
capital,  the  Jerusalem,  Rome,  Cordova,  or  Tokio 
of  the  nation,  its  people  look  for  esthetic  development  and 
artistic  excellence,  as  well  as  for  leadership  in  material 
affairs  and  far-reaching  political  influences.  In  the  nation's 
capital  we  expect  to  find  the  most  refined  type  of  the  nation's 
citizenship,  its  best  presentation  to  the  world  of  its  worthy 
men  and  women. 

Rome  represents  at  once  the  historic  dignity  of  the  ancient 
republic  and  the  practical  strength  of  the  new  Italian  king 
dom.  "Paris  is  France,"  typifying,  in  her  solid  material 
prosperity  and  opportunities  for  the  refined  enjoyment  of 
life,  the  peculiar  genius  of  the  French  people.  In  like 
manner,  London,  Vienna,  Berlin,  St.  Petersburg,  and  Buenos 
Ayres  are  capitals  of  which  their  respective  nations  may  be 
justly  proud,  each  in  its  own  way  appealing  to  the  affection 
of  its  inhabitants,  and  exacting  the  admiration  of  the  visitor. 
These  renowned  cities,  and  others  of  like  character,  emulate 
each  other  in  presenting  to  all  comers,  native  or  foreign, 
the  most  respectable  element  of  the  citizenship  of  the  nation, 
arraying  themselves  in  architectural  beauty  and  civic  dignity, 
not  unworthy  of  their  pre-eminence. 

Compared  with  any  one  of  these  famous  metropolitan 
communities,  how  insignificant  appears  our  capital  city! 
Notwithstanding  the  admirable  plan  upon  which  the  city 
of  Washington  is  laid  out,  its  fortunate  climatic  situation, 

8 


ii4  The  Negro  Problem 

and  the  natural  beauty  of  its  surroundings,  and  despite  the 
enormous  sums  which  have  been  devoted  to  its  embellish 
ment  by  the  erection  of  stately  public  buildings  and  the 
ornamental  improvement  of  its  broad  thoroughfares,  our 
national  capital  remains  a  city  of  which  no  well  informed 
American  can  be  sincerely  proud. 

The  principal  cause  of  this  absence  of  dignity  and  distinc 
tion  is  the  presence  of  an  undue  proportion  of  negroes  among 
the  population  of  the  seat  of  government.  By  the  census 
of  1900  the  population  of  the  city  was  278,717,  of  which 
86,702  were  of  the  African  race,  that  element  thus  consti 
tuting  nearly  one-third  of  the  inhabitants.  While,  taken 
all  together,  perhaps  the  negro  presents  a  more  favorable 
appearance  in  Washington  than  in  any  other  city  of  the 
country,  the  fact  of  his  presence  in  such  numbers  deprives 
our  nation's  capital  both  of  business  prosperity  and  nobility 
of  appearance. 

Statistics  here  demonstrate,  as  in  other  sections  of  the 
country,  that  the  negro  furnishes  an  abnormal  proportion 
of  the  criminal  population  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Although  less  than  one-third  in  numbers,  the  race  supplies 
74  per  cent,  of  the  enumerated  prisoners  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  of  the  125  persons  committed  during  the  year 
1904  for  serious  crimes,  the  negro  furnished  94,  upward 
of  75  per  cent.  This  astonishing  record  of  criminality  at 
the  very  seat  of  governmental  dignity  is  supplemented  by 
conditions  of  squalid  poverty  and  vicious  degradation  which 
discredit  the  character  of  the  local  government  and  which 
render  the  section  south  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue  a  disgrace 
to  the  capital  city  of  a  civilized  community. 

The  fact  that  the  negro  is  so  numerous  in  Washington, 
more  numerous  than  in  any  other  city  in  the  country,  and 
that  he  is  generally  assumed  to  be  peculiarly  entitled  to  the 
protection  of  the  National  Government,  renders  him  un- 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       115 

usually  self-assertive  in  his  attitude  towards  the  white  people, 
and  correspondingly  decreases  the  attractions  of  the  capital 
as  a  place  of  residence  for  people  of  refinement. 

The  result  of  the  unfortunate  tendency  of  negroes  to 
congregate  at  the  capital,  to  the  exclusion  of  whites,  is  three 
fold: — In  the  first  place,  it  deters  the  wealthy  and  leisure 
classes  of  the  nation  from  making  the  capital  of  the  country 
their  place  of  residence,  and  forbids  the  formation  of  artistic, 
scientific,  or  literary  circles  at  the  seat  of  government,  render 
ing  the  atmosphere  of  Washington  almost  entirely  of  a  legal 
and  political  character.  Further,  it  deprives  the  people  of 
the  District  of  Columbia  of  the  right  of  self-government,  it 
having  been  found  by  experiment  that  the  negro  population 
is  unworthy  to  be  entrusted  with  political  power;  and  the 
other  permanent  residents  of  the  District,  insufficient  in 
numbers  and  wealth  to  maintain  a  proper  city  establish 
ment,  are  of  necessity  governed  directly  by  Congress.  This 
arrangement  leads  to  a  complete  loss  of  interest  on  the 
part  of  the  governed  in  the  welfare  of  the  city,  and  leaves 
its  administration  in  the  hands  of  strangers.  Third,  and 
of  serious  importance,  this  seamy  side  of  our  beautiful 
capital  degrades  the  whole  nation  in  the  eyes  of  those  ac 
customed  to  the  splendid  avenues,  imposing  buildings,  and 
substantial  populations  of  the  great  European  capitals. 

What  must  be  the  impression  of  the  foreign  visitor  or 
diplomatic  representative  when,  upon  arrival  at  the  seat 
of  government  of  this  nation,  supposed  peculiarly  to  repre 
sent  the  most  advanced  type  of  human  development,  he 
finds  himself  surrounded  by  the  miscellaneous  horde  of 
uncouth,  grotesque  negroes,  who  are  found  continually 
idling  about  the  railway  stations  and  other  public  places  of 
the  city,  and  at  every  turn  has  the  unpleasant  fact  forced 
upon  him  that  he  is  in  the  midst  of  a  hybrid  population, 
neither  negro  nor  white  ?  No  subsequent  travel  through  the 


n6  The  Negro  Problem 

prosperous  North  or  West  can  ever  remove  the  impression 
produced  by  his  first  contact  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
nation's  capital,  and  the  discovery  that  it  contains  so  large 
a  proportion  of  negroid  population.  The  presence  of  the 
negro  retards  the  material  development,  belittles  the  char 
acter,  and  diminishes  the  prestige  of  the  city  which  of  all 
others  should  be  most  representative  of  our  American  demo 
cratic  civilization,  and  which  should  in  the  coming  years 
assume  rank  among  the  stately  capitals  of  civilization. 

7.  In  a  subsequent  chapter  some  necessary  consideration 
will  be  given  to  the  system  of  peonage  or  industrial  slavery, 
which  is  rapidly  taking  root  in  the  lower  South, 
Convict        and  which  the  National  Government  is  experi- 
Labor  encing    extreme    difficulty    in    suppressing.     In 

timately  associated  with  this  subject  of  peonage, 
of  which  so  little  is  known  in  other  sections  of  the  coun 
try,  and  which  procures  its  victims  among  ignorant  white 
men  as  well  as  negroes,  is  the  convict  labor  system  pre 
vailing  in  the  states  where  the  negro  population  is  mainly 
concentrated. 

The  practice  prevails  throughout  the  range  of  states  ex 
tending  from  Virginia  to  Texas,  of  leasing  persons  convicted 
of  crime  (the  great  majority  being  negroes)  to  the  highest 
bidder,  who  thus  acquires  the  right  to  avail  himself  of  their 
labor  as  a  matter  of  speculation.  Statistics  relating  to  this 
barbarous  practice  are  simply  incredible.  The  usual  custom 
is  for  the  bidder,  frequently  some  favored  politician,  to 
sublet  the  convicts  by  hundreds  to  contractors  for  road- 
making,  lumbering,  working  in  the  turpentine  industry, 
or  other  similar  exhausting  labor.  The  prices  paid  for 
the  labor  of  these  convicts  by  those  employing  their  services 
appear  almost  beyond  belief. 

Under  a  sub-contract  made  in  the  spring  of  1907,  Ham- 
bey  &  Toomer,  lessees  of  500  Georgia  convicts,  sublet  the 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       117 

labor  of  these  unfortunate  beings  at  $47.50  per  month  each, 
a  sum  in  excess  of  $10  per  week  for  common  labor,  where 
the  contractor  has  the  burden  of  supporting  the  convict; 
yet  doubtless  the  sub-contractors  expect  to  make  a  reason 
able  profit  out  of  their  disreputable  bargain.  It  would 
appear  from  the  Southern  newspapers  that  there  exists  a 
considerable  rivalry  among  the  states  of  that  region  for  the 
distinction  of  obtaining  the  highest  price  for  the  leasing  of 
these  luckless  criminals.  In  the  case  mentioned,  however, 
the  state  received  but  $19  per  month  for  the  labor  of  these 
wretched  malefactors,  the  difference  between  that  sum  and 
the  price  obtained  as  above  stated  being  the  profit  of  the 
political  contractors. 

Complaints  of  the  inefficiency  of  the  negro  labor  of  the 
South  are  of  constant  occurrence,  and  when  we  take  into 
consideration  the  ordinary  wages  paid  to  unskilled  labor 
in  that  section,  or  even  the  higher  compensation  of  the 
same  class  of  labor  in  the  North,  and  reflect  upon  what 
must  be  exacted  in  the  way  of  production  from  an  ill-fated 
convict  for  whom  a  sub-contractor  is  paying  $47.50  per 
month,  with  the  expense  of  keeping,  the  horrors  of  the 
system  must  at  once  impress  themselves  on  the  mind  of  any 
person  possessing  the  least  spirit  of  humanity. 

In  the  Cosmopolitan  Magazine  of  March,  1907,  an  account 
will  be  found,  substantiated  by  names,  places,  and  dates, 
showing  to  what  extent  this  practice  is  in  vogue.  The  evil 
possibilities  of  such  a  system  of  convict  labor  are  scarcely 
susceptible  of  exaggeration,  and  what  little  information 
the  outside  world  can  obtain  regarding  peonage  and  the 
chain-gang  system  of  the  South  is  not  calculated  to  impress 
us  with  the  enduring  value  of  the  achievements  of  our 
civilization. 

During  the  present  session,  there  is  pending  in  Congress 
an  investigation  of  the  charges  that  a  system  of  peonage 


u8  The  Negro  Problem 

exists  in  Mississippi,  and  the  harsh  treatment  which  both 
whites  and  negroes  have  received  in  that  state  has  attracted 
the  attention  of  all  civilized  lands,  and  has  caused  the  Italian 
Government  to  caution  its  subjects  against  being  induced 
to  settle  in  that  state,  and  substantially  to  forbid  their  emi 
gration  to  any  part  of  the  country  where  the  chain-gang 
system  prevails. 

Simon  Legree,  in  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  tersely  stated  the 
theory  of  the  chain-gang: 

I  don't  go  for  savin'  niggers.  Use  up  and  buy  more  's 
my  way — makes  you  less  trouble  and  I  'm  quite  sure  comes 
cheaper  in  the  end.  .  .  .  Stout  fellers  last  six  or  seven 
years,  trashy  ones  gets  worked  up  in  two  or  three.  .  .  . 
I  just  put  'em  straight  through,  sick  or  well.  When  one 
nigger  's  dead  I  buy  another,  and  I  find  it  comes  cheaper 
and  easier  every  way. 

The  spirit  of  Uncle  Tom's  brutal  master  must  still  be 
hovering  over  the  victims  of  peonage  and  the  wretched  chain- 
gang  convicts  engaged  in  the  turpentine  camps  and  lumber 
districts  of  the  lower  South. 

8.  Of  all  devices  employed  for  the  purpose  of  marking  the 
distinction  between  the  white  and  negro  races  in  the  South, 
"  Jim  probably  the  most  offensive  to  the  negro  is  what 

Crow  "Laws.  are  COmmonly  known  as  the  "Jim  Crow"  laws. 
The  term  is  of  recent  origin,  and  is  employed  to  designate 
the  discrimination  which  is  made  by  legislation  throughout 
the  whole  section  from  the  Potomac  to  Mexico,  between  the 
accommodations  provided  for  the  Caucasian  and  the  negro 
races  in  all  relations  of  life.  By  custom,  and  usually  by 
positive  statute  law,  the  segregation  of  the  races  is  rigidly 
enforced,  and  while  in  theory  equal  accommodations  are 
required,  in  practice  the  provision  for  the  negro  is  decidedly 
inferior.  This  strict  separation  is  likewise  a  practice  of 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       119 

recent  years,  necessitated  by  the  increasing  prosperity  of 
the  negrc,  and  is  attributable  to  the  resulting  desire  on  his 
part  to  enjoy  superior  accommodations,  and  to  his  demand 
to  be  permitted  to  travel  in  the  same  manner  as  his  white 
associates. 

During  the  years  immediately  succeeding  the  Civil  War, 
the  ignorance  and  poverty  of  the  negro  obviated  the  necessity 
of  these  "Jim  Crow"  enactments,  but  with  his  attainment 
of  some  degree  of  material  prosperity,  he  complains  when 
he  finds  himself  more  rigorously  relegated  to  separate,  and 
usually  markedly  inferior,  accommodations.  Perhaps  the 
best  illustration  of  this  tendency  is  to  be  found  in  our  newly 
admitted  state  of  Oklahoma.  It  is  said  that  the  Consti 
tutional  Convention  of  1907  was  in  favor  of  embodying  in 
the  fundamental  law  a  provision  allowing  separate  accom 
modations  in  public  travel  to  be  provided  for  the  different 
races,  but  that  the  fear  prevailed  that  such  a  discrimina 
tion  would  result  in  the  rejection  of  the  Constitution,  and 
the  organic  law  of  the  state  is  silent  upon  the  subject.  The 
Constitution,  however,  contains  ihe  following  provision: 

ARTICLE  I.,  Section  5.  The  Legislature  may  provide 
for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  separate  schools 
for  white  and  colored  children. 

ARTICLE  XIII.,  Section  3,  under  the  subject  of  education, 
defines  "colored  children"  as  "children  of  African  descent," 
and  all  other  children  as  "white  children."  It  is,  indeed, 
a  remarkable  commentary  on  the  sincerity  of  political  pro 
fessions  that  the  Republican  party,  upholding  the  theory 
of  absolute  racial  equality,  controlling  the  Presidency,  and 
possessing  a  large  majority  in  each  House  of  Congress, 
should  have  accepted  as  satisfactory  a  constitution  con 
taining  a  provision  so  obnoxious  to  the  fundamental  prin 
ciples  of  republican  institutions. 


120  The  Negro  Problem 

But  worse  remains  behind.  Scarcely  was  the  new  state 
admitted  and  the  organization  of  its  government  perfected, 
before  a  measure  was  enacted  by  both  Houses  of  the  Legis 
lature,  and  received  the  sanction  of  the  Governor,  providing 
in  railway  travel  for  separate  coaches  and  waiting-rooms  for 
the  two  races,  with  the  usual  condition  that  they  must  be 
of  equal  character.  A  large  proportion  of  the  million  and 
a  half  population  of  this  recent  accession  to  statehood  comes 
from  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Kansas,  and  the 
fact  that  such  a  provision  was  adopted  with  practical  una 
nimity  gives  expression  to  the  vigor  of  racial  antipathy  pre 
vailing  in  the  newly  organized  commonwealth. 

A  recent  newspaper  article  described  the  disagreeable 
experiences  of  a  negro  professor,  who  attempted  to  assert 
his  right  to  travel  in  the  ordinary  Pullman  coach  from  St. 
Louis  to  Guthrie,  Oklahoma.  He  was  compelled  in  Okla 
homa  to  accept  the  accommodations  of  the  "Jim  Crow" 
car,  being  subjected,  not  only  to  inconveniences,  but  to 
exceedingly  humiliating  treatment. 

Mr.  Ray  Stannard  Baker,  in  his  studiously  accurate 
description  of  Southern  methods  of  dealing  with  the  race 
problem,  describes  the  conditions  existing  on  Southern 
railway  trains  as  being  a  source  of  constant  irritation  to  both 
races.  He  says: 

When  I  came  South  I  took  particular  pains  to  observe 
the  arrangement  on  the  trains.  In  some  cases  negroes 
are  given  entire  cars  at  the  front  of  the  train,  at  other 
times  they  occupy  the  rear  end  of  a  combination  coach 
and  baggage  car,  which  is  used  in  the  North  as  a  smoking 
compartment.  Complaint  here  is  that  while  the  negro 
is  required  to  pay  first  class  fare,  he  is  provided  with 
second  class  accommodations,  while  to-day  negroes 
who  can  afford  to  travel  also  complain  that  they  are  not 
permitted  to  engage  sleeping  car  berths.  Booker  T. 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       121 

Washington   usually   takes   a   compartment   where  he   is 
entirely  cut  off  from  white  passengers. 

And  so  at  length  he  depicts  the  universal  discrimination 
against  black  men  in  railway  and  other  travel  in  that  section. 
The  same  practice  of  segregation  would  prevail  in  the  North 
were  the  number  of  negroes  sufficient  to  render  their  separa 
tion  feasible. 

Should  the  reader  desire  further  information  upon  the 
serious  import  of  this  phase  of  the  negro  problem,  the  ma 
terial  may  be  obtained  from  a  careful  examination  of  the 
acrimonious  debate  upon  the  subject  of  "Jim  Crow"  cars 
which  took  place  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on  last 
Washington's  Birthday.  A  measure  for  the  regulation  of 
the  street  railway  companies  of  Washington  being  under 
consideration  in  the  Committee  of  the  Whole,  Mr.  Heflin,  of 
Alabama,  offered  the  following  amendment: 

And  shall  provide  equal  but  separate  accommodations 
for  the  white  and  colored  races  by  providing  two  or  more 
cars,  or  by  dividing  their  cars  by  a  partition  or  adjustable 
screen,  which  may  be  made  movable,  so  as  to  allow  ad 
justment  of  the  space  in  the  car  in  the  manner  suited  to 
the  requirements  of  the  traffic,  so  as  to  secure  separate 
accommodations  for  the  white  and  colored  races.  No 
person  shall  be  permitted  to  occupy  seats  in  cars  or  com 
partments  other  than  the  ones  assigned  to  them  on  account 
of  the  race  to  which  they  belong. 

The  debate  upon  this  amendment,  which  merely  sought 
to  introduce  into  the  city  of  Washington  the  practice  pre 
vailing  from  that  place  to  the  Mexican  border,  carries  the 
mind  back  to  the  rancorous  discussions  of  the  years  suc 
ceeding  the  Civil  War.  On  the  one  side  of  the  question 
were  arrayed  the  members  from  the  South  in  unanimous 
advocacy  of  the  passage  of  the  amendment;  on  the  other,  the 


122  The  Negro  Problem 

Northern  Congressmen  denouncing  the  proposed  amend 
ment  as  abhorrent,  inhuman,  and  unjustifiable,  subversive 
of  the  rights  of  the  negro,  and  inimical  to  the  principles  of 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  guaranteed  by 
the  Constitution.  After  a  prolonged  and  bitter  debate, 
characterized  by  accusations  of  hypocrisy  on  the  one  side, 
and  of  a  desire  to  humiliate  the  negro  on  the  other,  the 
amendment  was  lost — ayes  57,  noes  104. 

The  strikingly  significant  incident  of  the  debate  will  be 
found  at  page  2430  of  the  Congressional  Record,  where  one 
practical  member  of  the  House,  while  favoring  the  amend 
ment,  expressed  himself  as  opposed  to  its  present  considera 
tion.  "Let  us,"  said  he,  "get  the  bill  through,  and  some 
time  in  the  future,  in  general  debate,  let  us  thrash  the  negro 
question  out,  even  if  we  thrash  each  other  while  doing  it." 
(Laughter.)  When  we  bring  to  mind  the  serious  conse 
quences  which  might  ensue  from  an  attempt  of  one  section 
to  thrash  the  other  over  the  negro  problem,  it  is  somewhat 
difficult  to  understand  how  this  discussion  can  be  regarded 
in  a  jocular  spirit,  and  remarks  of  this  character  be  properly 
considered  a  subject  of  merriment. 

During  this  debate,  and  on  all  like  occasions,  the  claim 
is  made  by  those  advocating  the  adoption  of  "Jim  Crow" 
measures,  that  so  long  as  equal  accommodations  are  afforded 
to  the  Caucasian  and  negro,  the  fact  that  separation  is 
enforced  is  not  to  be  considered  as  discriminating  against 
the  latter  race.  But  the  old  proverb  runs,  "When  two 
ride  a  horse  one  must  ride  behind";  and  the  common  sense 
of  the  American  people  informs  them  that  in  this  matter 
the  negro  is  the  one  who  will  habitually  occupy  the  rear  seat. 
No  very  close  observation  is  required  to  ascertain  the 
fact  that  throughout  the  South  the  provisions  afforded  the 
negro  in  railway  waiting-rooms,  platforms,  and  coaches, 
as  well  as  upon  steamboats  and  in  other  public  places,  are 


Illustrative  Phases  of  the  Problem       123 

always  of  the  inferior  order.  In  street-car  service  the  negroes 
are  required  to  occupy  the  rear  portion  of  the  cars,  even 
when  seats  are  unoccupied  in  the  front,  and  are  cautioned 
by  conspicuous  signs  against  transgressing  the  stringent  rules 
adopted  to  enforce  separation.  An  incident  which  fell 
under  the  personal  observation  of  the  writer  during  the 
past  winter  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  illustrates  the  rigor 
with  which  separation  regulations  are  enforced,  and  the 
contemptuous  treatment  to  which  the  negro  is  habitually 
subjected. 

It  happened  on  the  return  to  that  city  from  the  Seven 
Pines  battlefield  in  an  ordinary  surface  car  of  the  trolley 
line.  When  the  car  came  within  the  thickly  settled  portion 
of  the  city  it  was  fairly  well  filled  with  white  people  and 
negroes.  A  sign  prominently  displayed  allotted  the  front 
of  the  car  to  the  whites  and  the  rear  to  the  blacks.  No 
special  line  denoting  the  point  of  separation  was  apparent, 
but  the  matter  seemed  to  be  generally  understood,  and  the 
rear  of  the  car  was  crowded  with  negroes  while  several 
seats  were  unoccupied  in  the  forward  part. 

A  negro  man  and  woman,  apparently  husband  and  wife, 
entered  the  car.  The  man  presented  the  appearance  of  a 
prosperous  business  or  professional  man.  He  was  a  light 
mulatto,  well  dressed  and  dignified  in  his  manner;  and  his 
wife,  even  lighter  in  complexion  than  he,  tall  and  dignified 
in  bearing,  was,  with  one  exception,  easily  the  best  attired 
and  most  distinguished-looking  woman  in  the  car.  Al 
though  in  general  appearance  a  member  of  the  white  race, 
she  was  nevertheless  compelled  by  the  "Jim  Crow"  regu 
lations  to  undergo  the  humiliation  of  standing  among  a 
crowd  of  ordinary  negro  laborers  in  the  rear  of  the  car, 
debarred  by  the  iron  rule  of  caste  from  availing  herself  of 
one  of  the  unoccupied  seats. 

Nothing  more  destructive  of  the  natural  pride  of  an  in- 


124  The  Negro  Problem 

telligent  and  self-respecting  man  or  woman  can  be  conceived 
than  the  treatment  to  which  the  better  class  of  negroes  in  the 
South  are  subjected  in  this  ruthless  enforcement  of  the 
mortifying  regulations  for  the  separation  of  the  races.  Yet 
all  protest  is  unavailing.  The  laws  which  accomplish  this 
degrading  discrimination  against  the  black  man  are  de 
nounced  by  the  enlightened  members  of  his  race,  but  have 
been  steadily  upheld  by  the  courts  and  sanctioned  by  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  as  constituting  proper  and 
reasonable  regulations  of  travel.  The  negro  asserts  that 
these  unjust  laws  result  in  the  dwarfing  of  the  manhood 
and  womanhood  of  his  people,  and  bitterly  denounces  the 
practice  of  exacting  payment  for  first-class  accommodations 
and  then  compelling  the  members  of  his  race,  theoretically 
equal  before  the  law,  to  submit  themselves  to  such  obnoxious 
requirements. 

The  Bishops  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
in  session  at  Washington,  have  joined  in  a  complaint  to  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  against  the  unjust  dis 
crimination  and  unlawful  treatment  meted  out  to  the  mem 
bers  of  their  church  by  the  various  railways  of  the  Southern 
States.  Their  complaint  will  be  heard,  gravely  considered, 
and  the  action  of  the  railway  companies  approved  upon  the 
theory  that  if  equal  accommodations  are  furnished  there  is 
no  illegal  discrimination.  It  cannot  be  otherwise.  The 
fundamental  racial  instinct  for  separation  is  too  strong. 
Never  in  this  country  will  the  whites  and  the  blacks  be 
found  enjoying  public  accommodations  upon  a  plane  of 
equality,  where  the  members  of  the  latter  class  are  suffi 
ciently  numerous  to  make  separation  feasible. 

Closing  the  chapter  with  these  striking  illustrations  of 
the  impossibility  of  harmonizing  the  relations  of  the  two 
antagonistic  races  in  our  country,  we  will  proceed  to  con 
sider  another  and  equally  interesting  phase  of  the  problem. 


CHAPTER  VI 

WHY  ATTEMPT  TO   SOLVE  THE  PROBLEM  AT   ALL? 

Any  degree  of  departure  from  sound  basic  principles  is  as  dangerous 
in  governmental  affairs  as  in  the  exact  sciences,  and  when  the 
departure  has  gone  so  far  as  to  demonstrate  the  error,  only 
the  foolish  will  continue  to  propagate  it.  So,  when  a  political 
error,  fundamental  in  character,  has  been  so  far  pursued  as  to 
demonstrate  its  certain  evil  tendency  the  time  is  at  hand  to 
heroically  apply  the  remedy  and  avert  the  impending  certain 
disaster  by  returning  to  sound  principles.  —  Congressman 
J.  WARREN  KEIFER,  of  Ohio.  Speech  in  House  of  Representa 
tives,  March  15,  1906. 


,"  says  the  reader,  "why  concern  ourselves  with 
any  solution  of  the  problem?  Our  efforts  in  the  past 
to  bring  about  a  settlement  of  the  question  cannot  be  re 
garded  with  unalloyed  satisfaction.  Where  we  have  med 
dled  and  interfered  and  theorized  we  have  generally  gone 
wrong.  Why  not  leave  the  problem  to  work  itself  out?  It 
is  not  pressing  in  the  North  and  the  South  seems  to  be  willing 
to  take  care  of  it."  "What  harm,"  says  my  friend  to  me, 
"is  the  negro  doing  anyhow?  If  you  leave  him  alone  he 
does  not  interfere  with  you,  and  he  certainly  is  entitled  to 
live  and  work  and  to  fashion  his  own  destiny.  Why  all  this 
turmoil,  this  magazine  writing,  this  persistent  discussion  up 
and  down  the  land  of  the  negro  problem?  Why  not  leave 
it  alone  and  let  it  work  itself  out?" 

Well,  in  the  first  place,  we  simply  cannot  leave  it  alone. 
The  fact  of  the  continuance  of  this  interminable  discussion, 
the  constant  output  of  books,  newspaper  editorials  and 

125 


i26  The  Negro  Problem 

magazine  articles,  the  negro  educational  conferences  and 
violent  Congressional  debates,  all  indicate  that  the  problem 
is  acute  in  the  public  mind  and  persistently  demanding 
solution. 

And  so  this  constant  sense  of  unrest  on  the  subject  of 
the  negro  denotes  the  presence  of  a  growing  social  disease. 
The  really  healthy  man  is  not  concerned  about  his  health. 
The  organs  of  his  body  perform  their  natural  functions  so 
harmoniously  as  not  to  attract  his  attention  in  the  slightest 
degree.  An  analogous  law  prevails  in  the  spiritual  world. 
The  man  whose  life  is  based  upon  truth,  and  whose  conduct 
stands  square  with  principles  of  rectitude,  exhibits  no  appre 
hension  as  to  his  future  spiritual  condition.  Only  when 
this  nation  adopts  some  rational  theory  for  the  solution 
of  this  apparently  inscrutable  problem  and  bends  its  energies 
to  effect  its  execution  will  the  present  disagreeable  and 
dangerous  discussion  of  the  subject  cease. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  our  treatment  of  the  question  we 
have  pursued  the  laissez-faire  policy  from  the  beginning,  and 
Need  of  a  w^  one  exception  hereinafter  noted  no  definite 

Definite  national  policy  has  ever  been  proposed  upon  the 
Solution.  ,  .  r..T  "  .11  -r/j  j^  •  j 

subject.     We  have  simply  drifted  and  temporized, 

suffered  and  sacrificed  on  account  of  the  negro,  theorized 
without  acting,  until  we  find  ourselves  to-day  afloat  upon 
the  same  current  of  uncertainty,  unknowing  in  what  di 
rection  we  are  going  or  what  unforeseen  consequences  may 
follow  our  neglect. 

Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  if  this  nation  is  to  achieve 
a  destiny  commensurate  with  its  illustrious  past,  some  ade 
quate  solution  of  the  negro  problem  must  be  effected  without 
delay.  By  postponement,  paltering,  and  disagreement,  we 
but  prolong  the  evil  and  increase  the  difficulty  of  applying 
the  remedy.  Such  has  been  our  policy,  or  rather  lack  of 
policy,  in  the  past  that  unless  a  decided  change  for  the  better 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem?      127 

be  made  in  this  regard  nothing  but  the  most  disastrous  re 
sults  can  be  expected  to  follow  our  exhibition  of  optimistic 
fatalism. 

The  status  of  the  negro  problem  at  the  present  time  bears 
great  resemblance  to  that  of  the  question  of  slavery  in  the 
years  preceding  the  Civil  War.  North  and  South,  radical 
and  conservative,  slaveholder  and  non-slaveholder,  fire- 
eater  and  abolitionist,  differed  and  wrangled  for  decades 
as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  regard  to  that  institution, 
the  result  being  that  the  problem  year  by  year  darkened  and 
became  more  difficult  of  peaceful  solution,  until  war  as 
the  inevitable  result  was  invoked  to  effect  a  separation  of 
irreconcilable  interests.  Under  this  impracticable,  vacil 
lating  policy,  settlement  after  settlement  was  announced, 
each  one  intended  finally  to  dispose  of  the  vexatious  sub 
ject.  Compromises,  constitutional  and  unconstitutional, 
political  and  non-political,  were  effected,  each  believed  to 
be  the  veritable  burial-place  of  the  question.  And  yet,  after 
each  settlement,  the  irrepressible  conflict  between  freedom 
and  slavery  broke  out  in  fiercer  form,  and  after  each  com 
promise  all  parties  found  that  inconvenience  had  been  en 
dured  and  rights  had  been  bartered  away,  only  to  leave 
the  final  adjustment  of  the  problem  more  pressing  than  ever 
and  the  possibility  of  peaceful  solution  more  remote. 

And  so  will  it  be  with  this  problem  which  is  the  subject 
of  our  thought.  We  need  but  to  turn  back  to  the  literature 
of  the  period  succeeding  the  war  and  there  to  read  the  hopeful 
prognostications  of  the  leaders  of  political  thought  of  that 
era,  to  see  how  little  of  their  hope  has  been  realized  and  how 
much  of  unexpected  disappointment  has  occurred,  and  to 
appreciate  that  whatever  apparent  progress  has  been  made 
towards  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  negro  but 
little  progress  has  been  made  in  the  direction  of  a  solu 
tion  of  the  problem.  On  this  subject  our  thoughts  are 


128  The  Negro  Problem 

disorganized,  disagreeing,  ineffectual,  chaotic.  No  adequate 
plan  has  been  formed  for  the  solution  of  the  problem,  and 
yet  we  simply  cannot  leave  the  question  alone. 

Now,  secondly,  even  if  we  could  leave  the  problem  alone, 
it  is  our  duty  to  ourselves  and  to  the  negro  race  to  take  im- 
Urgent  mediate  steps  to  remedy  the  present  situation. 
Reasons,  ^he  presence  of  a  great  number  of  people  of  the 
negro  race  in  this  country,  living  under  the  conditions  depicted 
in  the  foregoing  chapters  and  under  other  conditions,  social 
and  political,  to  be  discussed  in  following  pages,  is  a  continual 
detriment  to  the  nation  and  a  drawback  to  its  development. 

First:  To  begin  with,  physically  the  negro  is  an  injurious 
element  in  the  state.  Living,  as  he  ordinarily  does,  a  debased 
life,  usually  in  degrading  surroundings,  he  is  a  persistent 
breeder  of  disease  and  is  in  many  ways  instrumental  in 
lowering  our  physical  condition.  The  negroes  in  the  South 
wash  the  clothing  of  the  whites  and  prepare  their  food,  and 
in  this  way  tuberculosis  and  other  contagious  diseases  are 
frequently  transmitted.  To  quote  from  the  essay  of  Dr. 
Bean  on  the  training  of  the  negro: 

They  tend  our  children,  and  not  only  convey  the  great 
white  plague,  but  worse  still,  by  intimate  contact  they 
affect  the  morals  of  the  young.  As  washerwomen  they 
contaminate  our  clothes.  They  are  foci  of  infection  in 
any  community. 

And  to  any  discerning  mind  it  must  be  apparent  beyond 
question  that  the  presence  of  so  many  individuals  living 
under  inferior  physical  conditions  cannot  but  be  detrimental 
to  the  welfare  of  the  nation. 

Beyond  the  physical  effects,  wherever  they  are  found  in 
great  numbers  they  constitute  an  injury  to  the  property 
interests  of  the  section.  So  much  so  is  this  the  case  that  in 
many  Western  towns  and  cities,  notably  in  Indiana,  Illinois, 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem?     129 

and  Missouri,  negroes  are  relentlessly  excluded  from  the 
community,  and  if  any  of  the  race  attempt  to  settle  they  are 
immediately  ordered  to  depart.  Out  of  all  proportion  to 
their  numbers  in  Northern  communities  they  are  a  charge 
upon  the  public  in  prisons,  hospitals,  almshouses,  and  insane 
asylums.  The  criminal  statistics  of  the  race  are  made  the 
subject  of  discussion  in  another  part  of  this  chapter,  and  in 
themselves  demonstrate  the  injury  inflicted  upon  the  com 
monwealth  by  this  inferior  race. 

The  negro  occupies  the  lowest  of  all  positions  in  the  indus 
trial  world.  To  the  workingman  in  the  North  endeavoring 
Industrial  to  elevate  himself,  to  dignify  his  work,  to  provide 
Reasons.  for  fas  family,  and  to  support  it  in  becoming  Amer 
ican  fashion,  the  presence  of  numbers  of  unskilled  negroes  is 
a  perpetual  menace.  In  all  uncivilized  or  partially  civilized 
communities  the  great  burden  of  labor  is  imposed  upon 
women  and  children,  and  it  is  common  knowledge  that  in 
our  Northern  cities  many  of  the  negro  men  who  do  obtain 
precarious  employment  are  supported  in  whole  or  in  part 
by  the  earnings  of  their  women  and  children. 

We  have  heretofore  remarked  in  our  discussion  how 
difficult  it  is  for  the  negro  to  gain  employment  in  any  lucra 
tive  position,  North  or  South.  This  very  fact  constitutes 
the  race  a  threatening  element  toward  that  class  of  the  white 
laboring  population  whose  energies  must  be  directed  toward 
unskilled  employments  affording  only  a  bare  subsistence, 
and  which  by  the  competition  of  a  less  independent  and 
more  needy  race  must  find  increasing  difficulty  in  securing 
a  livelihood. 

Wherever  in  an  unskilled  occupation  a  strike  occurs,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  coercing  recalcitrant  laborers  bands  of 
strike  breakers  are  organized,  the  negro  is  constantly  resorted 
to  for  this  disreputable  employment. 

In  an  article  in  Charities,  October,  1905,  will  be  found  a 


130  The  Negro  Problem 

discussion  of  the  subject  of  the  use  of  the  negro  as  an  instru 
ment  in  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  employers  of  labor  for 
the  purpose  of  depressing  wages  and  increasing  hours  of 
labor,  which  should  be  instructive  to  the  negro  as  well  as  to 
the  white  man  in  unskilled  occupation.  The  writer  tells 
of  the  attempt  to  supplant  white  with  black  labor  in  Illinois 
labor  conflicts  and  the  evil  effects  resulting  therefrom  to 
both  races.  As  to  the  negro,  he  ends  by  saying: 

Yet  it  still  remains  that  in  times  of  industrial  peace 
the  more  desirable  places  are  closed  against  negroes, 
either  because  the  employers  will  not  hire  them  or  the 
men  will  not  work  with  them. 

The  conditions  under  which  the  great  majority  of  the  negro 
race  live,  the  handicap  imposed  upon  them  by  their  color, 
the  implacable  hostility  which  they  encounter  in  their  en 
deavors  to  compete  industrially  with  the  white  man,  their 
exclusion  from  the  labor  unions,  all  combine  to  constitute 
them  a  class  apart  in  the  realm  of  productive  activity,  and 
to  compel  them  to  accept  the  most  meagre  wages  for  their 
unskilled  efforts,  and  in  like  manner  to  accommodate  them 
selves  to  the  lowest  scale  of  living. 

Given  thus  a  great  mass  of  despised,  unskilled  negro  men 
and  women,  residing  in  a  community  either  urban  or  rural, 
engaged  in  the  more  undesirable  occupations,  without  hope 
of  social  or  industrial  advancement,  and  of  necessity  ready 
to  accept  employment  at  any  price  at  any  time,  and  you  have 
a  stumbling-block  in  the  path  of  every  workingman  endeav 
oring  to  better  his  condition,  and  a  serious  menace  to  the 
security  of  the  community  in  which  they  exist.  Their  press 
ing  needs  require  them  to  sacrifice  everything  to  the  neces 
sity  of  the  moment,  and  to  reduce  their  living  demands  to 
the  lowest  amount  indispensable  to  maintain  a  bare  exist 
ence.  There  are  certainly  enough  white  men  in  our  great 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem  ?      13 1 

cities  and  industrial  communities  who  are  forced  by  their 
needs  to  accept  disagreeable  occupations  at  small  wages 
to  render  the  existence  of  a  more  menial  class  abso 
lutely  unnecessary.  The  only  progress  which  society 
can  make  on  its  industrial  side  is  effected  by  the  grad 
ual  elevation  of  the  worthy  members  of  the  lower  labor 
class  into  higher  employment,  and  this  can  be  accom 
plished  only  where  the  way  is  open  to  each  individual  to 
gain  by  his  exertions  a  higher  position  in  the  industrial 
world. 

In  his  thoughtful  work  upon  organized  labor  (page  116) 
John  Mitchell  thus  sets  forth  the  American  standard  of 
The  living  for  unskilled  workingmen,  and  the  mini- 

StendanT  mum  wage  upon  which  this  standard  can  be 
of  living,  maintained: 

In  cities  of  from  five  thousand  to  one  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants  the  American  standard  of  living  should  mean 
to  the  ordinary  unskilled  workman  with  an  average  family, 
a  comfortable  house  of  at  least  six  rooms.  It  should 
mean  a  bath  room,  good  sanitary  plumbing,  a  parlor, 
dining  room,  kitchen,  and  sufficient  sleeping  room  that 
decency  may  be  preserved  and  a  reasonable  degree  of 
comfort  maintained.  The  American  standard  of  living 
should  mean  to  the  unskilled  workman,  carpets,  pictures, 
books  and  furniture  with  which  to  make  home  bright, 
comfortable  and  attractive  for  himself  and  his  family; 
an  ample  supply  of  clothing,  suitable  for  winter  and  sum 
mer,  and  above  all  a  sufficient  quantity  of  good,  wholesome, 
nourishing  food  at  all  times  of  the  year.  The  American 
standard  of  living,  moreover,  should  mean  to  the  unskilled 
workman  that  his  children  be  kept  in  school  until  they 
have  attained  the  age  of  sixteen  at  least,  and  that  he  be 
enabled  to  lay  by  sufficient  to  maintain  himself  and  his 
family  in  times  of  illness  or  at  the  close  of  his  industrial 
life,  when  age  and  weakness  render  further  work  impossible, 


132  The  Negro  Problem 

and  to  make  provision  for  his  family  against  his  premature 
death  from  accident  or  otherwise. 

Further,  Mr.  Mitchell  says  (page  117): 

The  American  as  a  practical  business  man  always  asks 
what  a  desired  innovation  will  cost,  and  until  he  hears  the 
price  reserves  his  opinion  as  to  whether  a  thing  is  Utopian 
or  a  practical  idea.  What  wages,  therefore,  are  necessary 
to  maintain  the  American  standard?  This  question  was 
put  to  me  by  the  attorneys  for  the  coal  company  during 
the  sessions  of  the  Anthracite  Coal  Commission,  and  at 
that  time  I  said  that  the  very  least  upon  which  an  un 
skilled  workman  could  maintain  a  desirable  standard  of 
living  was  six  hundred  dollars  per  year. 

In  further  discussion  Mr.  Mitchell  notes  the  difference 
in  living  expenses  between  great  cities  and  rural  communi 
ties,  but  generally  speaking  fixes  the  above  as  the  lowest 
admissible  standard  of  American  living,  and  six  hundred 
dollars  as  the  minimum  annual  wage  by  which  it  can  be 
maintained. 

In  a  discussion  in  Congress  of  the  bill  regulating  the  sala 
ries  of  letter-carriers,  on  February  20,  1907,  the  Hon.  Her 
bert  Parsons  of  New  York  said: 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN:  Some  time  ago,  at  my  request,  a  carrier 
in  New  York  City  furnished  me  the  following  itemized 
statement  of  the  cost  of  living  expenses  for  himself,  wife, 
and  three  children.  He  lived  on  the  fifth  floor  of  a  ten- 
family  house,  and  spent  the  following  amounts : 

Per  year 

Rent $252  .00 

Gas 42  . oo 

Coal 36.00 

Ice 1 2  .  oo 

Insurance  and  dues. .  108.00 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem?      133 

Per  year 

Wearing  apparel  (all  kinds) 1 20  .  oo 

Doctor  and  medicines 36 .00 

Household    expenses,    furniture,    and 

bedding 24 .  oo 

Food,  meats,  and  groceries 360 .00 

Additional   expenses   not   included   in 

foregoing 10  .00 


Total $1000  .00 

The  foregoing  leaves  no  allowance  for  an  extended 
sickness  or  loss  of  salary  while  sick.  In  the  item  of  wearing 
apparel  is  included  the  cost  of  uniform,  etc.  Insurance 
is  a  recognized  necessity  to  provide  against  death. 

In  the  Eighteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Labor,  published  in  1903,  the  average  expenditure  of  a 
family  consisting  of  man,  wife,  and  three  children  the 
country  over  was  estimated  to  be : 

Per  year 

Rent $113  . 16 

Fuel 28.88 

Lighting 6 . 46 

Clothing 81 .09 

Sundries 117.96 

Food 283 .61 


Total $631.16 

Can  any  one  contend  that  this  standard  of  living  is  too  high  ? 
Are  the  conditions  depicted  by  Mr.  Mitchell  too  luxurious  for 
an  American  citizen  and  his  family  ?  Is  the  sum  of  twelve 
dollars  per  week,  with  a  two  weeks'  vacation  each  year,  an  ex 
orbitant  wage  to  be  demanded  by  a  self-respecting  working- 
man  ?  And  yet  what  proportion  of  the  negroes  in  Northern 
communities  approach  even  this  minimum  standard?  For 
in  just  the  measure  in  which  the  negroes  fall  below  the  con- 


134  The  Negro  Problem 

ditions  required  for  the  maintenance  of  an  honorable  position 
do  those  of  the  white  race  higher  in  the  scale  find  their  diffi 
culty  in  maintaining  their  standard  of  living  and  securing 
the  desired  comforts  for  themselves  and  their  families  in 
creased.  This  negro  element  in  the  North,  slight  as  it  is, 
enhances  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  a  suitable  standard 
of  living  among  the  white  people,  and  results  in  an  appre 
ciable  lowering  of  the  dignity  of  unskilled  labor  by  its  lower 
standards  and  unremitting  competition. 

The  negro  is  found  constantly  employed  in  the  lowest,  most 
menial,  and  distasteful  of  occupations.  The  vulgar  phrase 
so  frequently  employed  in  declining  any  disagreeable  occu 
pation,  that  such  work  is  "fit  for  a  nigger,"  is  indicative 
of  the  popular  view  of  his  position  and  capacity.  The 
negro  accepts  servile  occupation  with  an  appearance  of 
contentment  and,  indeed,  satisfaction,  and  performs  work 
obnoxious  to  any  self-respecting  white  man  at  a  minimum 
figure,  compelled  by  his  necessities  to  this  course.  Now,  it 
is  unavoidable  that  in  every  community  much  service  of  un 
desirable  character  must  be  performed,  but  honest  labor  of 
any  kind,  even  of  the  character  of  personal  attendance,  may 
be  dignified  if  done  in  a  dignified  manner  and  for  suitable 
compensation. 

It  is  not  so  long  ago  that  the  nursing  of  the  sick  for  hire 
in  cases  of  contagious  disease  was  regarded  as  a  disreputable 
occupation,  but  to-day  the  badge  and  white  cap  of  the  trained 
nurse  carry  with  them  the  suggestion  of  invaluable  services 
rendered  in  an  honorable  vocation.  Call  a  man  a  "scav 
enger,"  pay  him  poorly,  overwork  him,  and  keep  him  in 
noxious  surroundings,  and  you  make  him  an  object  of  con 
tempt;  place  him  in  the  Street  Cleaning  Department,  with 
a  neat  uniform,  on  a  liberal  pay-roll,  protected  by  civil-service 
laws,  assured  of  permanent  tenure  and  respectful  treatment, 
and  his  position  becomes  invested  with  qualities  of  dignity. 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem  ?      135 

We  thus  see  how  the  existence  of  this  element  of  unskilled, 
thriftless,  and  improvident  negro  labor  operates  as  a  serious 
drawback  to  that  advancement  of  wages  and  living  con 
ditions  in  which  lies  the  greatest  hope  for  the  establishment 
of  an  educated,  industrious,  self-respecting  citizenship 
throughout  our  country. 

Second:  Nor  is  this  all.  The  moral  aspect  of  the  matter 
remains  to  be  considered.  The  effect  of  the  presence  of  the 
The  Moral  negro,  North  and  South,  as  an  influence  in  the 
Reasons.  moral  development  of  our  people  is  not  so  im 
mediately  apparent  as  is  the  detrimental  effect  which  he  ex 
ercises  upon  the  industrial  organization  of  the  country.  And 
yet  to  those  endowed  with  an  accurate  conception  of  what  con 
stitutes  the  reasonable  standard  of  ethics  in  our  nation  there 
must  be  a  keen  comprehension  of  the  lowering  of  the  standard 
of  national  morality,  as  well  as  dignity,  which  follows  of 
necessity  from  the  presence  of  a  numerous  element  of  ig 
norant  and  debased  persons  displaying  a  high  rate  of 
criminality. 

It  is  necessary  at  this  point  to  say  a  few  plain  words  upon 
the  subject  of  the  criminal  record  of  the  negro.  In  order 
Negro  that  no  statements  merely  of  conjectural  character 

Criminality.  mav  ^e  advanced,  the  discussion  will  be  strictly 
confined  to  the  statistics  found  in  the  Special  Report  of 
Prisoners  and  Juvenile  Delinquents  in  Institutions,  1904, 
published  by  the  Census  Bureau  of  the  Department  of 
Commerce  and  Labor,  S.  N.  D.  North,  Director,  1907. 

At  page  17  appears  the  following  table: 


i36 


The  Negro  Problem 


TABLE  VIII. 

PER  CENT.  DISTRIBUTION,  BY  COLOR,  OF  PRISONERS  ENUMERATED, 

JUNE  30,  1904,  AND  OF  GENERAL  POPULATION,  1900,  FOR 

STATES  AND  TERRITORIES. 


PRISONERS 
ATED,  JUNE 

ENUMER- 

:  30  ,1904. 

GENERAL 
TION  : 

POPULA- 
1900. 

STATE  OR  TERRITORY 

Per  cent, 
white 

Per  cent, 
colored 

Per  cent, 
white 

Per  cent, 
colored 

Continental     United 
States 

67  .  4 

32.6 

87.0 

12     I 

North  Atlantic  di 
vision  

88.9 

1  1  .  i 

98.  i 

I  .  Q 

Maine  .... 

08.4 

1.6 

00  -  7 

O  .  T. 

New  Hampshire. 
Vermont  
Massachusetts.... 
Rhode  Island  .  .  . 
Connecticut  

98.8 

95-6 
96.4 
91.7 

Q2  .  o 

I  .  2 
4.4 

3-6 
8-3 

7  -  i 

99.8 

99-7 
98.7 
97.8 

08.2 

0  .  2 

°-3 
1  -3 

2  .  2 
I  .8 

New  York  
New  Jersey  
Pennsylvania  .  .  . 

South  Atlantic  di 
vision  

92.1 

78.5 
78.9 

25.6 

7-9 
21.5 

21  .  I 

74-4 

98-5 
96.2 

97-5 
64.2 

i-5 

3-8 

2-5 

35-8 

Delaware  

41    .    ^ 

s8.8 

83.4 

16.6 

Maryland 

AQ  .  2 

cro  .8 

80.  2 

10.8 

District    of     Co 
lumbia. 

(i) 

(i) 

68.7 

^1  .  ^ 

Virginia  
West  Virginia.  .  . 
North  Carolina.  . 
South  Carolina.  . 
Georeia 

21  .  2 
47.0 
22.7 
I3.6 
21     I 

78.8 

53-° 
77-3 
86.4 
78  .0 

64-3 

95-5 
66.7 
41.6 

c  ?     •? 

35-7 
4-5 
33-3 
58-4 

4.6  .  7 

Florida  . 

II     3 

88.7 

"?6.3 

AT.  .  7 

North  Central  di 
vision  . 

7O     ^ 

20  .  ^ 

97   9 

2     I 

Ohio 

77    8 

22.2 

o  7    7 

2  .  3 

Indiana  
Illinois  

80.4 
80     2 

19  .  6 

19.8 

97-7 
08.2 

2-3 

1.8 

Michigan  

03  .  I 

6.9 

90  .  i 

o  .9 

Wisconsin  .  . 

06  .  o 

A.  .  O 

OQ  .  C 

0  .  5 

Per  cent,  not  shown  where  basis  is  less  than  100. 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem  ?      137 


PRISONERS 
ATED,  JUN1 

ENUMER- 
5  30,  1904. 

GENERAL 

TION: 

POPULA- 
1900. 

STATE  OR  TERRITORY 

Per  cent, 
white 

Per  cent, 
colored 

Per  cent, 
white 

Per  cent, 
colored 

Minnesota  
Iowa 

93-3 

OO    I 

6.7 

9.  0 

99.2 

00    4. 

0.8 
0.6 

Missouri     .    .  . 

62.7 

•570 

04-.  8 

^  •  2 

North  Dakota  .  . 
South  Dakota.  .. 
Nebraska 

97-5 
88.6 
82   9 

2-5 
11.4 

17    I 

97-7 
94.8 
99    i 

2-3 

5-2 
o  .  o 

Kansas 

66.7 

•2  •?  .  •? 

06  .  i 

3  .  7 

South    Central    di 
vision  

20  .  7 

7O.  ? 

69  .  7 

30  .  3 

Kentucky  . 

4.1  .  6 

^8.4 

86.7 

13  •  3 

Tennessee  

?Q  .  O 

70  .  o 

76.2 

23.8 

Alabama  

I  3  .  I 

86.  g 

C4.  7 

4C  .  7 

Mississippi 

92 

00.8 

4.1  *  3 

q8.7 

Louisiana  
Texas  
Indian  Territory 

J9-3 
40.7 

80.7 
59-3 

52.8 
79.6 

n.2 

47.2 
20.4 

22.8 

Oklahoma 

CO 

CO 

02  .  1 

7  •  7 

Arkansas  

28  4 

71  .6 

72  .  O 

28.0 

1  Per  cent,  not  shown  where  basis  is  less  than  100. 

The  statistics  of  the  Western  division  are  omitted  as  not 
bearing  on  the  question,  and  among  "  colored  "  are  included 
a  few  Indians  and  Mongolians,  not  numerous  enough,  how 
ever,  perceptibly  to  affect  the  result,  being  less  than  one-half 
of  one  per  cent,  in  the  states  contained  in  the  table. 
From  the  foregoing  table  the  following  facts  appear: 
i.     In  the  country  at  large  the  criminality  of  the  negro 
as  contrasted  with  that  of  the  white  man  is  nearly  three 
times  greater,  the  exact  figures  being  32.6  per  cent,  to  12.1 
per  cent.     In  commenting  on  this  subject  the  director  says: 

Since  at  the  census  of  1900  the  whites  formed  87.9 
per  cent,  of  the  general  population  and  the  colored  12.1 
per  cent.,  it  is  evident  that  the  colored  furnish  a  dispro 
portionately  large  part  of  the  prisoners.  For  each  state 


138  The  Negro  Problem 

and  territory,  with  the  exception  of  Arizona,  the  per 
centage  of  colored  among  the  prisoners  is  in  excess  of  the 
percentage  that  the  colored  formed  of  the  total  population. 
A  reason  frequently  given  for  this  relative  preponderance 
of  colored  prisoners  is  that  the  colored  are  too  impecunious 
to  buy  their  liberty  when  a  fine  is  imposed  for  a  minor 
criminal  offence,  while  the  whites  avail  themselves  freely 
of  this  opportunity.  Such  an  explanation  cannot  be  ap 
plied  to  the  statistics  in  this  report,  since  persons  serving 
time  for  non-payment  of  fines  were  not  enumerated. 

When  we  take  into  consideration  that  in  the  South  minor 
crimes  against  property  and  the  person  perpetrated  by  negroes 
among  themselves  are  rarely  made  the  occasion  of  im 
prisonment,  the  showing  of  proportionate  criminality  is 
even  more  startling  than  the  percentage  would  indicate. 

2.  The  highest  ratio  of  negro  criminality  is  found  where 
the  negro  element  bears  the  smallest  proportion  to  the  rest 
of  the  population.     Selecting  for  comparison  a  tier  of  North 
ern  States  extending  from  Maine  to  Nebraska,  the  propor 
tion  of  negroes  in  the  population  is  found  to  be  0.99;  the 
per   cent,   of   negro   criminals   in   prison    10.74.     In   other 
words,  in  this  great  district  of  intelligence  and  prosperity 
the  negro  furnishes  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  the  population 
but  produces  nearly  eleven  per  cent,  of  the  crime. 

3.  The  ratio  of  negro  criminality  to  that  among  whites 
increases  in  a  general  way  with  the  decrease  of  negro  illiteracy. 
Comparing  the  foregoing  table  with  that  found  on  page  60, 
showing  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  among  negroes,   this 
general   rule   appears.     For    example,    contrast    Ohio   and 
Louisiana.     In  the  former  state  the  percentage  of  negro 
illiterates  is  17.8,  in  the  latter  61.1;  but  in  the  former  in 
proportion  to  relative  population  nearly  ten  times  as  many 
crimes  are  committed  by  negroes,  in  the  latter  only  four 
times  as  many.     A  careful  study  of  the  two  tables  discloses 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem  ?      139 

as  a  matter  of  cold  statistics  that  as  the  education  of  the 
negro  progresses  his  criminal  record  grows  darker.  It  is 
significant  to  note  that  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  (Report, 
page  58)  among  the  negro  prisoners  is  31.4  per  cent.,  as 
against  a  general  illiteracy  of  the  race  of  44.5  per  cent. 
These  figures  afford  some  basis  for  the  assertion  so  commonly 
made  that  as  the  negro  acquires  education  and  opportunity 
his  criminal  instincts  invariably  develop.  Such  a  deduction 
is,  however,  unwarranted,  so  many  other  elements  enter  into 
this  phase  of  the  subject. 

4.  The  figures  of  the  table  exhibit  a  disproportionate 
increase  of  negro  criminality  in  recent  years.  Although  the 
percentage  of  negroes  to  total  population  fell  from  11.9  in 
1890  to  1 1. 6  in  1900,  the  percentage  of  criminals  increased 
from  30.4  in  1890  to  32.6  in  1904.  On  this  point  the  di 
rector  says: 

In  1890  the  percentage  of  whites  among  prisoners  was 
69.6,  and  of  colored  30.4.  When  these  percentages  are 
compared  with  the  corresponding  percentages  for  1904  it 
is  seen  that  the  proportion  of  colored  among  prisoners 
has  increased  perceptibly. 

The  table  of  persons  committed  for  crime  during  the  year 
1904  (Report,  page  39)  presents  substantially  the  same  con 
dition  of  negro  criminality,  the  proportion  for  major  offences 
being  68.5  per  cent,  for  the  whites  and  31.5  for  the  colored, 
who  are  nearly  all  negroes. 

And  yet  in  the  face  of  this  remarkable  array  of  figures 
it  may  well  be  doubted  whether,  after  all,  the  negro  is  nat 
urally  and  of  choice  a  criminal.  Certainly  under  normal 
conditions  his  instincts  do  not  appear  to  incline  him  in  that 
direction.  His  poverty,  but  not  his  will,  consents. 

The  circumstances  in  which  he  finds  himself  placed,  his 
heritage  of  vice  and  ignorance,  the  impossibility  of  advancing 


140  The  Negro  Problem 

himself  in  steady  and  honorable  occupation,  and  above  all 
the  absolute  futility  of  any  successful  effort  toward  social 
advancement,  together  tend  to  thrust  the  negro  into  the 
criminal  classes  of  the  country.  The  wonder  is  that  under 
the  circumstances  his  record  is  so  good,  which  can  be  ascribed 
only  to  the  fact  that  he  is  not  naturally  inclined  to  serious 
infractions  of  the  criminal  code;  only  the  harsh  necessities 
of  his  ever-present  condition  of  poverty  and  social  isolation 
drive  him  to  desperate  measures. 

As  these  lines  are  being  penned  my  eyes  fall  on  the  account 
in  a  New  York  morning  newspaper  of  the  murder  of  a  police 
man  in  that  city  by  a  wretched,  vagrant,  West  Indian  negro. 
Impelled  by  hunger  and  disease,  an  outcast  from  society, 
without  hope  or  opportunity,  the  slayer  might  well  say, 

I  am  one 

So  weary  with  disasters,  tugg'd  with  fortune, 
That  I  would  set  my  life  on  any  chance 
To  mend  it  or  be  rid  on't. 

In  this  frame  of  mind  he  snatches  a  woman's  pocket-book 
and  endeavors  to  escape.  Pursued,  in  a  frenzy  of  terror 
he  draws  the  ever-ready  revolver,  and  we  have  the  results 
of  a  valuable  life  lost  to  the  community,  a  family  bereaved, 
a  stain  on  the  city's  name,  the  expense  of  trial  and  con 
viction  of  the  criminal,  his  subsequent  support  by  the  com 
munity,  all  following  from  a  disregard  of  rational  methods 
of  dealing  with  the  race  to  which  he  belongs. 

Statistics  are  from  time  to  time  advanced  to  establish 
the  fact  that  with  education  and  superior  property  advan 
tages  the  negro  is  becoming  comparatively  free  from  crime. 
President  Booker  T.  Washington  prides  himself  that  out 
of  the  thousands  of  graduates  of  his  renowned  institution 
but  four  have  a  State  Prison  record,  and  other  educational 
institutions  of  the  higher  class  present  like  statistics.  No 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem  ?      141 

opportunity  of  verifying  these  figures  exists,  and  it  may  be 
assumed  that  they  are  measurably  correct  in  regard  to  the 
institutions  to  which  they  relate. 

Yet  the  fact  remains  that  the  great  mass  of  the  race,  North 
and  South,  exhibits  a  dark  record  of  criminality.  The 
effect  of  thus  having  in  the  community  a  distinct  class  with 
pronounced  criminal  activities  and  defective  moral  educa 
tion,  whose  men  are  popularly  supposed  to  be  venal  at  the 
polls  and  addicted  to  petty  larceny  in  daily  life,  and  whose 
women  are,  in  like  manner,  deemed  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
qualities  of  personal  chastity,  is  in  itself  calculated  to  pro 
duce  the  gravest  deterioration  in  the  moral  standards  of  the 
community  where  such  class  exists.  We  cannot  have  among 
us  a  people  whose  honesty,  chastity,  and  general  morality 
are  the  subject  of  daily  jest  without  in  some  considerable  meas 
ure  sharing  their  degradation.  At  first  thought  this  may  seem 
to  be  a  somewhat  exaggerated  phase  of  the  question,  but  ob 
servation  of  the  daily  records  of  our  police  courts,  of  the  inti 
mate  association  of  negroes  with  blackmailing  projects,  race 
tracks,  gambling  houses,  and  other  disreputable  haunts  where 
immorality  prevails,  will,  it  is  believed,  justify  in  the  mind 
of  the  attentive  observer  the  strength  of  this  statement. 

Third:  Another  reason  why  the  agitation  of  the  question 

at  the  present  juncture  must  be  considered  timely  is  that 

at  no  other  period  in  the  history  of  our  country 

Timeliness   nave  the  general  conditions  been  so  favorable  for 

°f.  the  .  the  solution  of  the  problem.  We  are  at  peace 
Discussion. 

with  all  the  world,  and  with  wise  statesmanship 
are  likely  so  to  remain.  We  are,  taking  the  broad  view  of  the 
time,  upon  a  tide  of  material  prosperity  of  which  there  is 
no  likelihood  of  an  immediate  ebb.  The  national  treasury 
shows  year  by  year  a  surplus  of  money  raised  by  taxation, 
and  has  at  times  tested  the  ingenuity  of  our  legislators  for 
its  depletion.  Throughout  the  country  at  the  present  time 


142  The  Negro  Problem 

there  is  no  other  equally  momentous  question  engrossing 
the  attention  of  the  people  to  prevent  the  full  and  generous 
consideration  of  the  negro  problem. 

Forty-live  years  of  experiment  on  the  lines  adopted  by 
the  statesmen  who  controlled  the  nation  after  the  Civil  War 
have  proved  their  plan  inadequate  to  work  out  a  solution. 
But  that  period  has  not  passed  without  affording  important 
lessons,  and  was  a  necessary  preliminary  to  our  present  more 
accurate  understanding  of  the  gravity  and  difficulty  of  the 
problem.  The  plan  of  solution  proposed  by  Lincoln,  and 
later  elaborated  in  this  work,  might  have  been  found  im 
practicable  forty  years  ago  by  reason  of  the  lack  of  develop 
ment  of  the  negro  at  that  time  and  of  the  inadequacy  of  our 
resources  to  carry  it  into  operation;  forty  years  from  now, 
for  reasons  yet  to  be  considered,  reasons  which  it  is  con 
fidently  believed  will  demonstrate  that  the  present  is  the 
auspicious  moment  for  action,  it  may  well  be  impossible  of 
execution. 

Fourth:  But  above  and  beyond  all  these  reasons,  in  them 
selves  sufficient  to  justify  a  present  agitation  of  the  question, 
remains  the  further  reason  that  the  existence  of  the  problem 
in  its  present  unsolved  condition  menaces  the  safety  of  our 
country  at  home  and  robs  it  of  dignity  abroad.  The  un 
solved  negro  question  is  the  sole  remaining  obstacle  which 
obstructs  the  fullest  and  most  complete  understanding  be 
tween  the  Northern  and  Southern  sections  of  this  country, 
and  compels  their  unnatural  division  upon  political  lines. 
It  is  this  which  renders  the  South  now,  as  it  was  a  hundred 
years  ago  and  has  ever  since  continued  to  be,  a  separate, 
distinct,  and  isolated  section  of  our  land.  In  view  of  so 
much  having  been  said  during  past  years  upon  the  com 
plete  reconciliation  of  the  sections  and  the  forgetfulness  of 
former  strife,  let  us  see  what  are  the  real  facts  in  this  regard. 

When  we  hear  a  person  constantly  and  obtrusively  pro- 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem?      143 

claim  the  fact  that  he  is  a  gentleman,  we  instinctively  begin 
to  entertain  suspicions  as  to  his  ability  to  justify  his  assertion. 
Where  we  find  individuals  continually  asseverating  that  in 
their  conduct  they  are  actuated  only  by  the  loftiest  purposes 
and  by  a  desire  to  promote  the  welfare  of  others,  we  are  in 
clined,  at  least,  to  reserve  our  judgment  as  to  their  motives  until 
we  observe  some  tangible  result  in  harmony  with  their  high 
professions.  And  similarly,  when  upon  every  occasion  of 
the  meeting  of  representative  Northern  and  Southern  men 
it  is  found  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  time-worn  ex 
pressions  of  "devotion  at  the  altar  of  our  common  country," 
"the  emulation  existing  in  the  furtherance  of  the  growth  of 
the  fraternal  spirit  between  the  formerly  discordant  sec 
tions,"  uthe  disappearance  of  the  sectional  spirit,"  and 
numerous  expressions  of  similar  import,  we  are  forced  to 
the  conclusion  that  somewhere  in  our  present  relations  there 
exists  a  conscious  flaw  which  renders  these  professions 
necessary,  and  which  mars  the  perfect  reconciliation  of  the 
North  and  South. 

What,  then,  is  this  underlying  fact  which  continues  the 
South  in  a  false  relation  to  the  other  sections  of  the  country, 
and  isolates  it  in  policies  and  sentiment  from  the 
Isolation  residue  of  the  nation?  Why  is  it  necessary  to 
of  the  treat  this  favored  and  historic  section  almost  as 
foreign  soil,  differing  in  thought,  commercial  in 
terest,  and  social  organization  from  the  regions  of  the  North 
and  West?  The  answer  is  simple, — "The  existence  of  the 
negro  problem." 

A  striking  illustration  of  this  false  attitude  of  the  South 
towards  the  great  economic  questions  of  the  day  is  to  be 
found  in  the  relation  of  its  political  leaders  towards  the  propo 
sition  advanced  by  many  thoughtful  minds  that  the  National 
Government  should  acquire  and  operate,  or  at  least  supervise, 
the  great  railway  systems  of  the  country.  Scarcely  a  more 


144  The  Negro  Problem 

important  question  engrosses  public  attention,  and  the  merits 
and  demerits  of  such  a  plan  offer  the  widest  field  for  honest 
difference  of  opinion  among  reasoning  men.  But  the  propo 
sition  can  command  no  enlightening  discussion  in  the  former 
slaveholding  states  for  the  reason,  frankly  stated,  that  the 
proposed  plan  of  government  ownership  and  operation 
would  involve  the  abandonment  of  separate  cars  for  persons 
of  negro  origin  on  all  railway  lines  in  that  section,  and  lead 
to  the  appointment  by  the  National  Government  of  negro 
train  officials.  The  mild  advocacy  of  such  a  measure  by 
one  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  of  a  great  political  party 
threatened  for  a  time  to  destroy  his  chances  for  another 
nomination  as  a  Presidential  candidate,  so  deep-seated  are 
the  objections  of  the  South  even  to  the  consideration  of  the 
measure. 

The  nine  million  of  ignorant  and  despised  persons  of 
negro  blood  residing  in  the  Southern  States  make  it  now 
impossible  for  the  white  people  of  that  section  to  form  a 
component  part  of  the  homogeneous  American  people,  and 
will  in  the  future  continue  to  impel  them  to  different  feelings, 
divergent  interests,  and  an  antagonistic  development.  This 
manifests  itself  in  a  thousand  different  ways. 

Even  while  these  lines  are  being  written  an  unseemly  wran 
gle,  miscalled  a  debate,  upon  the  subject  of  the  negro  occupies 
Sectional  f°r  days  the  attention  of  the  United  States  Senate. 
Strife.  j|-  js  narc[  to  conceive  a  more  deplorable  spectacle 
than  that  of  the  highest  legislative  chamber  of  our  country, 
chosen  by  the  people  for  the  purpose  of  framing  wise  and 
necessary  laws  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  this  progressive  nation, 
devoting  its  time  to  a  recriminatory  discussion  conducted 
upon  the  lowest  plane,  and  relating  to  trivial  incidents, 
inconsiderable  except  by  their  relation  to  the  negro  prob 
lem.  And  yet  thus  it  has  been  since  the  formation  of  our 
government;  in  the  Senate  and  House,  in  convention  and  on 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem  ?      145 

the  stump,  in  party  platforms  and  presidential  messages,  the 
negro,  his  attributes,  and  his  prospects  have  ever  been  the 
staple  subject  of  discussion  in  this  country;  the  cause  of 
sectional  feeling,  endless  wrangling,  brutality,  vituperation, 
and  assault. 

Only  two  years  ago  the  nation  witnessed  an  exhibition  of 
sectional  ill  feeling  spring  up  between  Massachusetts  and 
Virginia  over  the  race  question  in  its  relation  to  discrimina 
tion  against  negroes  at  the  York  town  celebration,  and  the 
mere  suggestion  that  the  President  might  bestow  a  minor 
office  in  the  customs  service  upon  an  Ohio  negro  threatened 
to  kindle  anew  the  interminable  discussion  of  the  policy 
or  impolicy  of  such  appointments  which  agitated  the  whole 
South  in  the  Indianola  and  Charleston  cases.  Regrettable 
as  it  may  be,  there  never  can  be  a  sincere  and  enduring 
reconciliation  between  the  North  and  South  so  long  as  the 
present  condition  of  the  negro  problem  continues  to  vex 
our  national  existence. 

Fifth:  Another  consideration  of  serious  moment  bearing 
upon  the  necessity  for  the  present  adjustment  of  this  problem, 
is  the  injurious  effect  which  our  incapacity  properly  to  deal 
with  the  subject  has  upon  our  standing  as  a  nation  through 
out  the  world. 

The  Honorable  James  Bryce,  our  highly  esteemed  Am 
bassador  from  England,  took  occasion,  at  the  dinner  given 

Impairment  *°  n*m  ^7  ^e  Pilgrim  Society  at  the  Savoy  Hotel 
of  National  in  London  last  winter,  to  comment  upon  the  en- 
Influence.  ,.,..,,.  .  ,.  ,  . 

during  friendship  existing  between  the  two  nations, 

and  to  extol  this  country  as  the  largest  and  wealthiest  of  all 
civilized  communities,  commenting  upon  the  respect  which 
our  institutions  everywhere  enjoy.  In  our  international 
relations  we  have  always  established  and  maintained  the 
highest  standard  of  justice  and  fair  dealing;  and  yet  every 
where  a  note  of  distrust  as  to  our  sincerity  creeps  in  when 

Id 


146  The  Negro  Problem 

our  treatment  of  the  negro  is  made  the  subject  of  discussion. 
Therein  lies  our  weakness. 

The  enlightened  statesmen  of  other  lands  are  familiar 
with  the  character  of  this  problem  and  are  likewise  fa 
miliar  with  the  terrible  failure  which  we  have  made  in  our 
endeavors  to  find  a  solution.  It  is  the  one  breakdown  of 
our  democratic  theory,  the  glaring  disappointment  in  our 
hopeful  national  career.  Of  what  avail  are  our  professions 
of  democratic  equality,  of  the  fair  and  undiscriminating 
administration  of  our  laws  throughout  the  land,  when  our 
leading  journals  are  daily  called  upon  to  report  atrocities 
perpetrated  upon  unoffending  citizens,  akin  to  those  which 
excited  the  horror  of  European  peoples  against  the  un 
speakable  Turk? 

We  may  illustrate  by  introducing  here  the  description 
of  an  event  unfortunately  too  common  in  character  in  this 
country  to  call  for  more  than  a  passing  newspaper  notice. 
There  is  here  presented  as  it  appeared  in  November,  1906, 
a  plain,  unadorned  newspaper  story: 

NEGRO  RUNS  AMUCK;  KILLS  FIVE 

JOHN   A.   ROEBLING  HEADS   POSSE  IN  SEARCH  FOR  ASHEVILLE 
MURDERER 

Asheville,  N.  C.,  Nov.  14. — Five  men  were  killed  and 
several  others  were  shot  early  this  morning  by  a  negro 
named  Harvey,  who  started  a  disturbance  in  the  negro 
quarter  known  as  Hell's  Half  Acre. 

The  dead  are  Charles  R.  Blackstock  and  J.  W.  Bailey, 
white  policemen,  and  Benjamin  Addison,  Tom  Neal  and 
J.  Corpening,  negroes.  The  most  seriously  injured  are 
J.  T.  Page,  a  white  policeman;  Tom  Rivers  and  Toney 
Johnson,  negroes. 

Harris   was   armed   with    a   rifle   and   ran   through    the 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem?      147 

streets  shooting  at  everybody  in  sight.  The  trouble  began 
over  a  woman. 

The  murderer  escaped. 

Chief  of  Police  Bernard  ordered  the  fire  bell  rung  and 
hundreds  of  men  turned  out  to  search  for  the  murderer. 
The  chief  ordered  hardware  stores  broken  open  to  get 
arms  and  ammunition. 

The  search  continued  through  the  night  without  avail. 
More  trouble  was  feared  this  morning,  so  Mayor  Barnard 
ordered  all  saloons  closed.  A  special  meeting  of  the  Alder 
men  was  held,  extra  police  were  called  out,  and  mass  meet 
ings  of  both  whites  and  blacks  were  held. 

The  negroes  issued  a  statement  through  the  Rev.  J.  W. 
McDufTy,  rector  of  St.  Matthias'  Church,  in  which  they  said 
that  members  of  their  race  stood  ready  to  aid  in  running 
down  the  murderer.  The  negroes  have  formed  posses  to 
aid  in  the  search. 

Men  have  been  scouring  the  mountains  with  blood 
hounds.  The  estate  of  George  W.  Vanderbilt,  where  the 
negro  was  reported  to  be  this  morning,  was  searched. 
John  A.  Roebling  of  New  York  led  a  posse  through  the 
mountains  in  the  direction  of  Alexander,  where  the  negro 
was  reported  to  have  been  seen. 

All  day  armed  men  have  been  patrolling  the  streets. 

The  next  day: 


NEGRO  DIES  FIGHTING  MOB 

ASHEVILLE     MURDERER    LEADS     500    MEN    TEN-MILE     CHASE, 
THEN,   BACK  TO    A  TREE,   OPENS   FIRE 

Asheville,  N.  C.,  Nov.  15. — James  Harvey,  the  negro 
who  murdered  two  policemen  and  three  negroes  here 
Tuesday  morning,  was  shot  to  death  by  a  mob  of  500 
near  Fletcher,  ten  miles  south  of  Asheville. 

The  negro  was  tracked  through  the  snow  to  Buenavista, 


148  The  Negro  Problem 

where  he  had  gone  into  a  stable.  Later  he  was  seen 
running  toward  Fletcher. 

The  mob  chased  him  through  the  mountains  for  ten 
miles  or  more.  Harvey  would  turn  at  intervals  and  fire 
at  his  followers,  and  many  shots  were  exchanged. 

When  the  mob  began  to  close  on  him  he  took  his  stand 
against  a  tree  and  fell  while  shooting. 

The  negro's  dead  body  was  brought  to  Asheville  this 
afternoon  in  a  wagon  by  a  mob  of  armed  men,  who  were 
loudly  cheered  by  the  people.  The  body  was  placed  on 
exhibition. 

These  revolting  occurrences  took  place  at  Asheville,  North 
Carolina,  a  city  having  a  population  of  about  fifteen  thousand, 
five  thousand  of  whom  are  negroes.  They  occurred  in  a 
city  of  fine  business  streets,  great  hotels,  electric  cars,  and 
many  of  the  refinements  of  modern  civilization,  and  not 
in  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  upon  the  Siberian  plains,  or 
in  the  swamps  of  the  Congo.  The  incident  elicits  no  special 
comment,  passing  as  an  ordinary  event  of  life  in  the  United 
States. 

In  a  succeeding  chapter  the  question  of  lynching  will  be 
discussed  in  its  relation  to  this  problem,  but  for  the  present 
purpose  it  suffices  to  say,  that  so  long  as  within  recent  years 
a  score  of  innocent,  unoffending  citizens  can  be  massacred 
in  the  streets  of  Atlanta  and  no  effort  be  made  to  secure 
the  punishment  of  those  known  to  be  guilty  of  the  murder 
ous  offences;  when  military  organizations  are  called  to 
Kemper  County,  Mississippi,  to  restore  order  after  ten  or 
twelve  black  men  have  perished  in  what  is  called  a  race  war, 
and  again  no  steps  are  taken  to  punish  the  murderers;  so 
long  as  from  day  to  day  reports  are  published  of  similar 
enormities  occurring  throughout  the  Southern  section  of  the 
country, — it  ill  becomes  our  public  authorities  to  remonstrate 
with  the  Czar  on  account  of  the  massacres  of  the  Jew- 


Why  Attempt  to  Solve  Problem?       149 

ish  population  at  Kisheneff,  or  to  join  in  the  protest  to 
King  Leopold  of  Belgium  relative  to  the  so-called  Congo 
atrocities. 

No  wonder  the  India  Brahman  told  the  Reverend  Dr. 
R.  S.  MacArthur,  of  Calvary  Baptist  Church,  New  York,  on 
the  occasion  of  his  recent  visit  to  Calcutta,  to  tell  "your 
missionaries  to  go  home  and  teach  your  American  savages 
to  observe  religion  and  law.  Yours  is  the  only  country  that 
burns  men  at  the  stake."  Assuredly,  our  spirit  of  American 
boastfulness  must  take  serious  pause  when  we  consider  our 
national  situation  in  regard  to  this  negro  question,  and  read 
of  the  frequent  barbarities  visited  upon  this  generally  inoffen 
sive  and  unresisting  people,  of  which  the  hangings,  burnings, 
and  banishments  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  last  summer,  furnish 
the  most  recent  example. 

When  we  raise  our  voice  in  favor  of  the  oppressed  in  any 
other  land,  what  moral  force  can  we  bring  to  the  subject, 
what  influence  can  we  hope  to  command?  Will  not  the 
answer  invariably  be,  "Look  at  your  own  treatment  of  the 
negro"?  And  had  the  nation  as  many  mouths  as  Hydra 
that  answer  would  stop  them  all.  No;  the  presence  of  the 
negro  problem  unsolved  deprives  our  republican  example  of 
all  just  influence  throughout  the  world;  enables  the  enemies 
of  free  institutions  with  plausibility  to  taunt  us  with  hypoc 
risy  and  incapacity  for  honest  dealing;  causes  the  real 
friends  of  freedom  to  doubt  our  sincerity,  and  gives  to  every 
man  who  appreciates  the  meaning  of  the  vast  difference 
between  our  professions  and  our  practices  a  feeling  of  humili 
ation  at  the  lack  of  intelligence  and  capacity  which  we  have 
thus  far  exhibited  in  dealing  with  this  subject. 

Despite  the  numerous  wars  of  the  past  decades  and  the 
newspaper  predictions  of  the  imminency  of  future  conflicts, 
the  spirit  of  the  nations  is  inclined  toward  peace.  In  the 
great  developments  of  that  spirit  of  concord  this  country 


150  The  Negro  Problem 

must  in  the  future  take  a  leading  part.  In  the  substitution 
of  the  principle  of  arbitration  in  place  of  war,  in  the  coming 
voluntary  or  involuntary  reduction  of  armaments,  and  in  the 
introduction  of  the  principle  of  federation  among  the  nations, 
our  numbers,  wealth,  and  spiritual  development  should 
enable  us  to  assume  a  natural  hegemony. 

But  so  long  as  our  treatment  of  the  negro  race  is  stamped 
by  the  injustice  to  which  the  black  man  is  everywhere  sub 
jected  throughout  the  land,  so  long  will  our  moral  influence 
among  the  nations  suffer  impairment,  and  we  shall  fall 
correspondingly  short  of  capacity  for  achievement.  The 
nation,  as  well  as  the  individual  seeking  to  invoke  the  juris 
diction  of  an  equitable  forum,  must  approach  the  tribunal 
with  unstained  hands. 


BOOK  II 

The  Proposed  Solutions 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    SOLUTION    OF    THE    SOUTH 

There  can  be  no  place  for  a  disfranchised  peasantry  in  the  United 
States. — JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

At  the  South  the  whole  community  is  cut  in  twain  along  the  color 
line;  only  at  the  bottom,  among  the  shadows  of  crime,  do  the 
races  mingle;  in  real  life  their  bond  is  becoming  more  and 
more  purely  economic,  at  the  top  among  the  better  elements 
of  both  races  there  is  little  communication. — PROFESSOR  W. 

E.   BURGHARDT  DuBoiS. 

The  Southern  white  men  and  women  who  have  for  forty  years 
resisted  in  every  possible  way  this  doctrine  of  the  equality  of 
the  races  are  just  as  resolved  now  as  they  have  always  been 
not  to  submit  to  it  or  its  results.  They  are  resolved  to  main 
tain  control  of  their  State  governments  and  to  prevent  in 
every  way  possible  social  and  political  equality,  with  the  in 
evitable  destruction  of  their  civilization  which  would  follow 
if  they  yielded.  The  conditions  are  growing  more  and  more 
aggravated  every  day.  Race  antagonism  increases  in  inten 
sity.  Are  things  to  drift  until  direful  tragedies  multiply  on 
every  hand  and  blood  shall  flow  like  water?  Is  the  statesman 
ship  of  our  time  inadequate  to  cope  with  this  question,  just 
as  the  statesmanship  of  1860  failed  to  prevent  the  dire  catas 
trophe  of  civil  war?  That  war  was  fought  to  settle  the  race 
question,  but  forty  years  after  its  termination  we  find  con 
ditions  more  threatening  in  some  of  their  aspects  than  they 
were  in  1861. — SENATOR  BENJAMIN  R.  TILLMAN,  Speech  in 
U.  S.  Senate,  January  12,  1907. 

/'"CONSIDERING  for  a  moment  the  perilous  gravity 
^-^  of  the  problem  hereinbefore  outlined,  our  first  im 
pression  would  naturally  be  that  an  imperative  demand  for 
its  immediate  solution  would  long  since  have  arisen, 

153 


i54  The  Negro  Problem 

yet  perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  which  character- 
No  Definite  *zes  t^ie  interminable  discussion  of  the  negro 
Solution  question  is  the  absolute  inconclusiveness  of  the 

disputation  as  to  any  practical  result. 
In  his  work,  The  Future  in  America   (1906),  Professor 
H.  G.  Wells  thus   states  the  impression  received  by  him 
of  the  utter  lack  of  intelligent  comprehension  of  the  im 
portance  of  the  question: 

I  have  attempted  time  after  time  to  get  some  answer 
from  the  Americans  I  have  met,  to  what  is  to  me  the  most 
obvious  of  questions.  Your  grandchildren  and  the  grand 
children  of  these  people  will  have  to  live  in  this  country 
side  by  side:  do  you  propose,  do  you  believe  it  possible, 
that  under  the  increasing  pressure  of  population  and  com 
petition  they  should  be  living  then  in  just  the  same  relations 
that  you  and  these  people  are  living  now;  and  if  you  do  not, 
what  relations  do  you  propose  shall  exist  between  them? 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  I  have  never  once  had  the 
beginnings  of  an  answer  to  this  question. 

The  failure  of  the  numerous  essayists  upon  the  subject 
to  propose  any  adequate  remedy  for  the  admitted  evil,  or, 
indeed,  to  agree  upon  any  line  of  conduct  in  relation  to  it, 
is  a  remarkable  characteristic  of  this  persistent  controversy. 
In  the  midst  of  a  wilderness  of  words,  words,  words,  we  find 
no  path  pointed  out  by  which  we  may  reach  a  clear  under 
standing  of  the  probable  resultant  of  the  contending  forces 
now  at  work  in  shaping  a  solution. 

A  few  citations  from  the  writings  of  some  of  those  who 
have  given  the  subject  careful  study,  and  thus  earned  a  right 
to  be  considered  as  authorities,  will  serve  to  illustrate  this 
lack  of  suggestion  of  a  definite  remedy.  They  comprise 
(i)  a  practical  Southerner;  (2)  a  Northern  idealist;  (3)  the 
leader  of  the  negro  race;  (4)  a  scientific  student  of  the 
problem. 


The  Solution  of  the  South  155 

(1)  Thomas   Nelson    Page,    an   earnest   student   of   the 
problem   from   the    Southerner's   view-point,  commendably 
fair  in  treatment  and  possessed  of  unusual  opportunities  to 
reach  a  practical  conclusion,  has  only  this  to  say  (The  Negro 
the  Southerner's  Problem,  p.  286) : 

The  question  is  often  asked,  "Now  that  the  race  problem 
in  the  South  has  been  laid  down  and  discussed,  what  so 
lution  of  it  do  you  offer — what  have  you  to  propose  to 
ameliorate  the  conditions  which  have  grown  out  of  that 
problem?"  The  answer  is  simple.  None,  but  to  leave 
it  to  work  itself  out  along  the  lines  of  economic  laws,  with 
such  aid  as  may  be  rendered  by  an  enlightened  public 
spirit  and  a  broad-minded  patriotism. 

He  follows  this  suggestion,  or  rather  want  of  suggestion, 
with  a  long  discussion  of  abstractions,  leaving  the  problem 
as  solutionless  as  though  he  had  been  engaged  in  the  in 
vestigation  of  a  purely  unrelated  topic.  Recurring  to  the 
subject  again,  on  page  298,  he  adds  this  oracular  observation: 

In  the  first  place,  it  seems  to  me  that  our  plain  duty  is 
to  do  the  best  we  can,  to  act  with  justice  and  a  broad  char 
ity,  and  leave  the  consequences  to  God. 

We  may  indeed  well  stand  astounded  at  such  an  easy  dis 
position  of  this  question  of  two  centuries'  standing.  But 
the  old  saying  that  "God  helps  those  who  help  themselves" 
probably  did  not  occur  to  the  talented  author  in  connection 
with  his  remark. 

(2)  The  late  Carl  Schurz,  a  man  who  had  enjoyed  the 
amplest  opportunity  to  familiarize  himself  with  this  subject 
in  all  its  relations,  and  who  was  by  nature,  experience,  and 
education  well  qualified  to  discuss  the  problem,  contributed 
a  long  and  carefully  prepared  article  to  a  prominent  maga 
zine  shortly  before  his  lamented  death,  in  which,  after  an 


156  The  Negro  Problem 

historical  review  of  the  causes  from  which  this  dark  problem 
has  originated,  and  after  indulging  in  the  usual  appeal  to  the 
South  to  be  generous  and  chivalric,  and  to  avail  itself  of 
the  integrity,  ability,  usefulness,  and  general  good  citizen 
ship  which  might  be  cultivated  among  the  blacks,  and  with 
an  earnest  recommendation  to  the  North  to  extend  with 
equal  generosity  its  assistance  to  the  South  in  carrying  on 
a  systematic  campaign  of  education  among  the  negro  masses, 
he  says,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  article: 

Will  it  then  be  said  that  what  I  offer  is  more  a  diagnosis 
than  a  definite  remedy?  It  may  appear  so,  but  this  is  one 
of  the  problems  which  defy  complete  solution  and  can  only 
be  rendered  less  troublesome.  It  can  certainly  not  be 
entirely  and  conclusively  solved  by  any  drastic  course  of 
treatment  which  might  rather  serve  to  irritate  than  to  cure. 
What  is  done  by  legislation  can  easily  be  undone  by  legis 
lation,  and  is  therefore  liable  to  become  subject  to  chances 
of  party  warfare.  The  slow  processes  of  propitiating  pub 
lic  sentiment,  while  trying,  are  definite,  and  promise  after 
all  the  most  desirable  results. 

Thus,  in  substance,  the  doctor,  after  his  careful  diag 
nosis,  has  no  remedy  to  offer,  and  contents  himself  with 
the  simple  expression  of  his  hope  that  the  patient  may 
recover. 

(3)  President  Booker  T.  Washington,  of  Tuskegee  Insti 
tute,  who  has  made  the  question  the  subject  of  solicitous 
study  throughout  his  working  life,  and  who  from  the  negro's 
point  of  view  is  certainly  one  of  the  best  qualified  members 
of  his  race  to  suggest  a  definite  solution,  is  equally  inconclu 
sive  in  his  discussion.  In  his  work  upon  the  Future  of  the 
American  Negro  he  treats  the  subject  exhaustively,  leading 
up  with  a  series  of  warnings  to  the  members  of  his  race  as  to 
the  methods  which  are  to  be  avoided  in  connection  with  the 


The  Solution  of  the  South  157 

problem,  and  then  leaves  the  ultimate  solution  in  the  same 
misty,  nebulous  condition  in  which  he  found  it,  saying 
(page  2 14): 

As  to  the  policy  that  should  be  pursued  in  the  larger 
sense, — on  this  subject  I  claim  to  possess  no  superior  wisdom 
or  unusual  insight.  I  may  be  wrong;  I  may  be  in  some 
degree  right. 

In  the  future,  more  than  in  the  past,  we  want  to  impress 
upon  the  negro  the  importance  of  identifying  himself  more 
closely  with  the  interests  of  the  South, — the  importance 
of  making  himself  part  of  the  South  and  at  home  in  it. 

Page  231: 

To  state  in  detail  just  what  place  the  black  man  will 
occupy  in  the  South  as  a  citizen  when  he  has  developed  in 
the  direction  named,  is  beyond  the  wisdom  of  any  one. 

(4)  Professor  Eastman,  after  400  pages  of  elaborate  dis 
cussion  of  the  origin,  nature,  capacity,  and  condition  of  the 
negro,  has  only  this  to  offer  (The  Negro,  His  Origin,  Histo/y, 
and  Destiny,  p.  441) : 

The  world  stands  back  in  awe  of  the  great  problem, 
"What  is  the  future  of  the  Negro  Race  in  America?" 
There  was  a  great  lack  of  statesmanship,  we  think,  in 
thrusting  full  citizenship  upon  them  without  preparation; 
and  it  would  seem  that  no  statesman  is  now  far-seeing 
enough  to  solve  the  problem  which  confronts  the  American 
people, — the  greatest  that  ever  will  be  brought  forth  for 
solution ; — but, 

"There  's  a  Divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough  hew  them  how  we  may." 

Citations  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely  from  the  pages 
of  the  dissertations  with  which  the  public  has  been  sought 
to  be  instructed  upon  the  subject  from  various  standpoints, 


158  The  Negro  Problem 

their  most  striking  feature  being  the  nearly  universal  failure 
even  to  suggest  any  feasible  remedy  for  the  admitted  evil. 

And  yet,  from  time  to  time  there  come  suggestions  of  so 
lution,  often  unfriendly,  usually  indefinite  and  impracticable, 
and  yet  indicative  of  the  public  spirit  which  is  groping  in  dark 
ness  toward  the  light.  Let  us,  therefore,  turn  for  a  moment 
to  discuss  some  of  the  plans  which  have  been  proposed  to 
remedy  this  unsatisfactory  state  of  affairs. 

First:  Rarely  at  the  present  time  is  any  solution  of  the 
problem  seriously  suggested  based  upon  the  amalgamation 
Amalgama-  or  blending  of  the  races.  Such  a  proposition 
tion  as  a  meets  no  favor  with  the  Caucasian,  and  the  negro 
feels  that  its  advocacy  by  him  would  only  generate 
fiercer  hostility  toward  the  members  of  his  race.  Imme 
diately  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  a  few  advanced  pro 
tagonists  of  the  cause  of  the  negro,  among  whom  may  be 
mentioned  Charles  Sumner,  Wendell  Phillips,  and  Frederick 
Douglass,  indulged  in  the  prophecy  that  by  way  of  amalga 
mation  the  solution  would  be  reached.  Experience,  how 
ever,  based  on  the  passing  of  time,  gives  no  indication  of  a 
tendency  in  this  direction. 

The  census  reports  indicate  a  decreasing  ratio  of  the 
number  of  mulattoes  as  compared  with  full-blooded  blacks, 
and  intermarriages  between  the  races,  stringently  prohibited 
in  the  South,  are  exceedingly  rare  in  other  sections  of  the 
country.  Whatever  commingling  of  blood  occurs  is  of  an 
illicit  character,  and  the  fact  may  be  now  deemed  well  es 
tablished  that  the  country  will  never  abandon  its  policy 
of  complete  segregation  of  the  races.  Whatever  the  outcome 
of  the  problem  may  be,  it  will  never  be  found  in  the  debase 
ment  which  would  result  from  amalgamation. 

Second:  From  time  to  time  some  radical  speculator  breaks 
into  the  field  with  an  argument  based  upon  the  inferiority  of 
the  negro  and  his  incapacity  for  advancement,  and  establishes, 


The  Solution  of  the  South  159 

at  least  to  his  own  satisfaction,  that  the  negro  is  doomed 
to  racial  death  for  the  best  interests  of  civilization,  and 
Extermina  *nat  ^1S  extinction  is  but  a  matter  of  a  few 
tion  as  a  generations.  He  finds  analogies  in  the  gradual 
disappearance  of  the  North  American  Indians,  the 
Sandwich  Islanders,  Maoris,  and  other  uncivilized  nations, 
and  contends  that  the  negro  will  not  be  able  to  withstand 
the  perils  incident  to  civilization  any  more  successfully  than 
the  Indian  or  the  savage  of  the  Pacific.  He  predicts  the 
certain  outbreak  of  terrible  diseases  among  the  blacks,  a 
steady  decrease  of  the  negro  birth-rate,  and  prophetically 
conjures  up  a  series  of  calamitous  occurrences  which  will 
eventually  result  in  the  disappearance  of  the  race.  Some 
even  go  so  far  as  to  suggest  the  adoption  of  measures  to 
effect  this  result. 

Now,  however  well  intended  such  a  theory  may  be  as  a 
solution,  neither  past  experience  nor  the  humane  principles 
upon  which  this  nation  is  certain  to  be  conducted  in  the  future 
give  support  to  such  a  proposition.  The  negro  race  has 
multiplied  rapidly,  and  all  well  informed  students  of  the 
problem  believe  that  it  will  continue  its  increase  under  the 
favorable  circumstances  likely  to  exist  for  some  generations 
to  come. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  negro  is  the  only  race  which 
has  looked  the  Anglo-Saxon  in  the  face  and  lived,  and  while 
there  may  be  doubt  entertained  as  to  the  fact  of  its  looking 
the  Anglo-Saxon  in  the  face,  if  we  mean  by  that  locution  the 
entering  into  sustained  competition  with  the  English  race, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  United  States  the  negro  is  not 
doomed  to  extermination,  at  least  within  any  period  having 
a  practical  bearing  on  the  subject. 

If,  however,  the  conditions  portrayed  in  Chapter  IV.  of 
Book  I.  continue  to  exist;  if  the  Southern  negro  is  to  be  con 
fined  to  the  position  of  a  disfranchised  serf— his  industrial 


160  The  Negro  Problem 

freedom  restricted,  his  education  neglected,  and  his  mor 
als  allowed  to  degenerate, — nothing  is  more  certain  than 
that  he  is  doomed  to  lose  ground  in  the  struggle  for  existence, 
and  his  final  elimination  by  the  inexorable  laws  of  nature 
will  work  out  the  slow  solution  of  the  problem.  But  as  with 
amalgamation,  such  a  solution  is  wholly  impracticable. 

Having  thus  sufficiently  disposed  of  what  may  be  called 
the  fanciful  solutions  of  the  problem,  we  are  now  prepared 
to  consider  the  serious  measures  which  from  time  to  time 
are  proposed  as  calculated  to  effect  a  remedy  for  the  evil. 
Some  of  these  may  be  said  to  be  propositions  for  solution, 
although  they  only  indicate  the  means  to  be  employed  with 
out  pointing  out  what  must  be  the  logical  result  of  their 
adoption. 

We  may  begin  by  saying  that,  broadly  speaking,  one  system 
of  policy  is  advocated  in  the  South  and  a  different  one  in  the 
North.  In  the  theoretical  treatment  of  the  subject  the 
sections  are  divided  closely  upon  the  same  geographical 
lines  as  formerly  they  were  upon  the  slavery  question.  It 
is  not  asserted  that  all  the  people  of  the  South  are  agreed 
upon  the  policy  to  be  pursued  upon  the  subject,  or  that  those 
of  the  North  are  a  unit  in  their  advocacy  of  any  defined 
remedial  measure.  But  as  above  stated,  in  a  general  way 
there  exist  two  fairly  well  outlined  solutions  of  the  problem, 
which  may  be  designated  for  convenience  sake  as, — first,  the 
Solution  of  the  South,  and  second,  the  Solution  of  the  North. 
In  this  chapter  the  endeavor  will  be  made  to  describe  the 
general  policy  adopted  by  the  former  section,  and  to  point 
out  its  insufficiency  as  a  remedy  for  the  existing  evil. 

The  solution  of  the  South  is  one  of  a  definite  and  positive 
character,  which  with  the  customary  and  characteristic 
The  South's  straightforwardness  of  the  people  of  that  section 
Solution.  js  k^diy  avowed  and  having  been  put  in  present 
operation  is  now  being  carried  to  its  logical  conclusion. 


The  Solution  of  the  South  161 

In  his  recent  essay  upon  the  subject,  the  Reverend  Wash 
ington  Gladden  took  occasion  to  say  in  quoting  from  the 
article  written  by  the  Honorable  Carl  Schurz  not  long  before 
his  death: 

"Here  is  the  crucial  point: — There  will  be  a  movement 
either  in  the  direction  of  reducing  the  negroes  to  a  permanent 
condition  of  serfdom,  the  condition  of  the  mere  plantation 
hand,  .  .  . " — The  question  before  the  people  of  the  United 
States  is  here  clearly  stated,  only  the  tense  must  be  changed 
from  the  future  to  the  present.  It  is  not  accurate  to  say 
that  there  will  be  such  a  movement  as  the  one  first  de 
scribed, — the  movement  is  in  full  progress  and  it  appears 
to  be  gaining  strength  every  day. 

Such  is  indubitably  the  fact.  The  solution  of  the  South 
is  no  academic  dissertation  upon  the  subject,  but  is  based 
upon  a  forceful  practical  purpose  and  has  already  advanced 
far  toward  its  ultimate  result.  It  does  not,  however,  meet 
the  approval  of  all  classes  of  the  Southern  people.  A  small 
but  saving  minority  disbelieves  in  its  methods  and  raises 
its  dissenting  but  ineffectual  voice  in  protest  against  the 
treatment  to  which  the  Southern  negro  is  subjected  in  its 
application.  Reference  is  made,  of  course,  to  that  school 
of  Southern  writers  upon  the  subject  of  whom  the  Reverend 
Edgar  G.  Murphy,  Joel  Chandler  Harris,  William  H.  Flem 
ing,  George  W.  Cable,  and  numerous  others  may  be  con 
sidered  representatives;  an  enlightened  and  sympathetic 
element  which  finds  itself  totally  at  variance  with  the  pre 
vailing  sentiment  entertained  in  that  section  of  the  country 
respecting  the  future  position  of  the  negro. 

But  while  all  respect  must  be  awarded  to  these  far-seeing 
dissentients  for  their  humane  principles  and  superior  ethical 
position,  it  must  in  all  frankness  be  admitted  that  they  do 
not  represent  the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  community  in 


1 62  The  Negro  Problem 

which  they  live,  and  that  their  influence  in  this  regard  upon 
public  thought  and  official  action  is  inconsiderable.  In 
relation  to  their  influence,  Professor  DuBois  truly  and  ac 
curately  says: 

The  brave  utterances  of  such  men  represent  a  very  small 
and  very  weak  minority, — a  minority  which  is  growing 
very  slowly,  and  which  can  only  hope  for  success  by  means 
of  moral  support  from  the  outside. 

To  whom,  then,  are  we  to  turn  to  ascertain  the  sentiment 
of  the  Southern  people  and  to  arrive  at  an  exact  compre 
hension  of  the  movement  by  which  the  South 
ment  of  "    is  to-day  working  out  the  practical  solution  of 

Southern  tne  neerro  problem?  Naturally,  to  the  public 
Sentiment. 

expressions  of  representative  men,  to  the  plat 
forms  of  the  dominant  political  party,  to  the  official  com 
munications  of  the  persons  occupying  high  official  station  by 
the  suffrages  of  the  people,  and  generally  to  the  writings  of 
clergymen,  lawyers,  editors,  college  professors,  business 
men,  and  authors,  representative  men  of  the  South  in  the 
various  activities  of  life.  Such  are  certainly  the  sources 
from  which  we  may  best  ascertain  the  real  feeling  and  policy 
of  the  South  upon  the  subject  of  the  future  status  of  the 
negro. 

In  presenting  this  phase  of  the  question  we  eliminate 
the  testimony  of  the  negro,  reserving  that  for  consideration 
in  another  chapter,  and  proceed  to  call  these  representative 
witnesses,  place  them  upon  the  stand,  and  let  them  give 
their  testimony  in  their  own  words. 

(i)  Bishop  Galloway,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia,  Bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  has  carefully  formulated 
the  following,  which  he  regards  as  the  things  upon  which 
Southern  men  are  now  agreed: 

First,  in  the  South  there  never  will  be  any  social  mingling 


The  Solution  of  the  South  163 

of  the  races.  Whether  it  be  prejudice  or  pride  of  race, 
there  is  a  mental  wall  of  partition  which  will  not  be  broken 
down. 

Second,  they  will  worship  in  separate  churches  and  be 
educated  in  separate  schools.  This  is  alike  desired  by 
both  races,  and  is  for  the  good  of  each. 

Third,  the  political  power  of  this  section  will  remain 
in  present  hands.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  intelligence  and 
wealth  will  and  should  control  the  administration  of  govern 
mental  affairs. 

Fourth,  the  great  body  of  the  negroes  are  here  to  stay. 
Their  coerced  colonization  would  be  a  crime  and  their  de 
portation  a  physical  impossibility.  And  the  white  people 
are  less  anxious  for  them  to  go  than  they  are  to  leave. 
They  are  natives  and  not  intruders. 

Here  we  find  a  conservative  statement  of  the  present  and 
prospective  condition  of  affairs  from  a  high  religious  au 
thority,  fully  cognizant  of  the  gravity  and  difficulty  of  the 
problem. 

(2)  Georgia  is  the  leading  state  of  the  South.     She  quite 
recently  elected  as  Governor  the  Honorable  Hoke  Smith  upon 
a  platform  which  unequivocally  declared  for  the  continued 
domination   of   the    white   race.     The    Governor   officially 
declares  that  the  proper  position  of  the  negro  is  not  that  of 
a  citizen  but  that  of  a  ward,  a  dependent,  the  same  position 
as  that  of  an  Indian,  and  calls  for  the  repeal  of  the  Four 
teenth   and   Fifteenth   Amendments   to   the   United   States 
Constitution.     Under  his  direction  the  Legislature  has  em 
bodied  in  the  Constitution  of  the  state  a  provision  effectually 
depriving  the  race  of  the  elective  franchise,  and  both  in  his 
public  addresses  and  official  messages  he  expresses  his  lack 
of  belief  in  the  political  capacity  of  the  negroes  who  con 
stitute  nearly  one-half  of  the  population  of  the  state. 

(3)  In  the  neighboring  state  of  South  Carolina,  the  Hon- 


1 64  The  Negro  Problem 

orable  Benjamin  R.  Tillman,  the  senior  Senator  from  that 
Senator  state,  has  acquired  an  unenviable  fame  from  his 
Tillman's  well-known  advocacy  of  the  most  violent  methods 
in  dealing  with  the  negro.  And  yet  who  can  say 
that  Senator  Tillman  does  not,  in  fact,  fairly  represent  the 
sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  Palmetto  State?  Not  only 
that,  but  he  seems  to  be  an  exceedingly  popular  lecturer 
in  Northern  communities,  where  he  delights  to  reveal  to 
large  audiences  the  negro's  wickedness  and  degradation, 
and  to  regale  his  hearers  with  counsels  of  hatred  and  hos 
tility  toward  the  African  race.  He  has  continued  this 
policy  for  years  without  meeting  serious  reprobation,  and 
were  not  the  people  of  his  state  in  complete  accord  with  his 
negrophobic  views  he  could  scarcely  retain  his  influential 
position. 

At  Augusta,  Georgia,  October,  1906,  Senator  Tillman 
enunciated  the  following  platform  for  dealing  with  the 
negro  race: 

There  are  some  people  who  say  that  a  race  problem 
settles  itself,  but  I  make  the  prediction  that  in  less  than 
ten  years,  I  fear  in  less  than  five,  there  will  be  a  great  num 
ber  of  bloody  race  riots  North  and  South,  beside  which 
the  Atlanta  riot  will  pale  into  insignificance. 

I  lay  down  the  following  propositions,  which  cannot 
be  disputed: 

First — White  men  of  the  South  are  united  and  deter 
mined  as  never  before  to  maintain  white  supremacy,  polit 
ically  and  socially,  in  every  part  of  every  Southern  state. 

Second — Negroes  were  never  more  intent  on  contesting, 
in  every  way  that  they  dare,  this  position  of  the  whites, 
the  Republican  National  Government  aiding  and  abetting 
this  idea. 

Third — Race  hatred  in  every  form  is  growing  in  intensity 
in  both  races. 

Fourth — Lynching  for  criminal  assault  will  continue  so 


The  Solution  of  the  South  165 

long  as  the  crime  is  committed.  The  escape  of  the  guilty 
inflames  whites,  precipitates  riots,  and  causes  innocent  ne 
groes  to  suffer. 

Fifth — Amalgamation  is  the  hope  and  ultimate  purpose 
of  the  negroes.  White  men  are  rendering  them  great  aid 
in  this  by  intimacy  with  negro  women.  The  line  must  be 
drawn  as  sternly  between  white  men  and  negro  women  as 
between  black  men  and  white  women. 

Sixth — The  burning  issue  is  how  to  prevent  and  not 
to  avenge  criminal  assault,  and  lynching  has  failed.  The 
superior  race  should  protect  many  millions  of  innocent 
negroes  from  false  teachers  and  base  leaders  who  are  rapidly 
driving  the  whites  to  desperation  that  means  a  race  war 
that  can  only  result  in  the  destruction  of  the  weaker  race. 

It  may  be  claimed  that  Senator  Tillman  is  an  extremist 
upon  this  subject,  but  until  some  critic  of  equally  command 
ing  station  in  his  section  appears  to  dispute  his  doctrines  it 
cannot  be  maintained  that  he  does  not  fairly  represent  the 
views  entertained  by  the  majority  of  his  constituents. 

(4)  Passing  to  the  adjoining  state  of  Alabama,  we  find 
the  late  senior  Senator  of  the  state,  the  Honorable  John 
T.  Morgan,  advancing,  shortly  before  his  lamented  death, 
the  suggestion  that  at  the  next  Democratic  National  Con 
vention  a  resolution  in  the  platform  should  be  adopted  to 
the  express  effect  that  this  is  a  white  man's  government,  and 
that  the  negro  should  be  excluded  from  all  participation  in 
the  franchise,  and  declaring  that  a  proper  interpretation 
of  the  Constitution  leaves  no  place  for  the  negro  or  the 
Indian  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  benefits  conferred  by  that 
instrument. 

The  Senator,  who  certainly  represented  the  public  sen 
timent  of  his  state,  said: 

I  believe  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  set 
apart  to  establish  and  execute  that  plan  of  government 


1 66  The  Negro  Problem 

which  had  no  precedent  or  model  in  the  wisdom  of  the 
nation.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Indian  tribes  or  the 
African  race  were  chosen  for  that  great  trust  in  the  birth 
hour  of  the  Republic.  I  find  no  place  for  those  of  them 
in  that  new  political  creation,  "The  People  of  the  United 
States." 

(5)  The  Honorable  William  Dorsey  Jelks,  for  the  six 
years  preceding  1907  Governor  of  Alabama,  may  be  regarded 
The  Views  as  entertaining  the  typical  Southern  opinion  on 
of  Gover-  the  subject.  He  says  in  a  recent  magazine  ar 
ticle  1  that  during  the  greater  part  of  the  six  years 
in  which  he  served  as  Governor  of  the  state,  he  had  repeated 
talks  with  leading  negroes  and  maintained  a  correspondence 
with  others  in  order  to  get  their  co-operation  with  conserva 
tive  white  men  in  the  interest  of  law  and  order.  With 
brutal  frankness  he  thus  announces  the  future  status  of  the 
negro  in  its  civil,  social,  and  political  aspects: 

One  thing  maybe  taken  for  granted  in  discussing  the  ever- 
present  race  question,  in  so  far  as  that  question  affects  the 
people  who  live  in  the  Southern  States:  that  is,  that  there 
is  no  social  equality  and  that  there  will  be  none  for  any 
day  which  can  be  foreseen.  No  day  will  come  within  this 
generation  or  the  next  when  negroes  will  be  unprovided 
with  separate  coaches  on  roads,  a  division  of  seats  in  street 
cars,  separate  hotels  and  at  least  separate  sections  at 
playhouses.  We  may  say  "that  this  law  of  separation  is 
written  in  the  blood  of  the  whites  and  is  ineradicable. 

Much  less  shall  there  be  terms  of  intimacy  in  the  family. 
The  white  man's  table  is  not  for  the  negro.  Whatever 
may  be  the  virtues  of  any  colored  man,  or  however  ad 
mirable  he  may  be  from  many  standpoints,  he  is  not  for  a 
place  at  the  white  man's  fireside  or  the  white  man's  table. 
These  intimacies  would  mean  that  he  is  fit  for  the  white 

1  "The  Acuteness  of  the  Negro  Question,"  North  American 
Review,  February  15,  1907. 


The  Solution  of  the  South  167 

man's  daughter.  After  an  evening  meal  so  surrounded 
or  attended  one  can  hear  the  head  of  the  house  exclaim: 
"I  have  supped  full  of  horrors."  There  may  be  people, 
there  are  people,  who  do  not  comprehend  this  feeling.  They 
say  they  do  not  get  our  angle  of  view.  Strive  as  they  may, 
they  cannot  see  the  matter  as  we  do.  My  people  find  it 
even  more  difficult  to  understand  the  Easterner's  view, 

However  others  feel  about  it,  it  is  settled  that  we  will 
not  have  any  suggestion  of  social  equality  in  the  South. 
To  this  extent  there  must  be  unending  separation  of  the 
races.  We  have  drawn  a  circle  about  us  and  propose  to 
control  this  feature,  at  least,  and  control  it  above  other 
important  matters  of  our  life.  We  will  not  even  discuss 
riding  in  the  same  coach,  sleeping  at  the  same  hotel,  eating 
at  the  same  table  or  studying  at  the  same  school. 

And  there  can  be  no  political  equality,  as  a  matter  of 
fact.  There  is  none  now  .in  most  of  the  Southern  States, 
and  those  states  which  have  not  done  so  are  preparing  to 
practically  disfranchise  the  negro  race,  01  certainly  the 
less  intelligent  and  less  worthy  portion  of  it. 

The  tone  of  his  whole  article  is  absolutely  hopeless,  and  the 
only  solution  he  has  to  offer  is  the  substitution  of  white 
teachers  for  black  in  the  work  of  giving  the  negro  rudimen 
tary  education. 

(6)  In  adjoining  Mississippi,  Governor  Vardaman,  the 
former  popular  Governor  of  that  state,  in  his  last  inaugural 
Vardaman's  ac^ress  exPressed  the  opinion  that  the  South 

Extreme  would  settle  the  question  justly,  protecting  alike 
Opinions.  the  ne^o  ^  the  wh-te  man>  He  takeg  a  de_ 

spondent  view  of  the  situation,  saying  of  the  negro: 

He  is  deteriorating  morally  every  day.  Time  has  de 
monstrated  that  he  is  more  criminal  as  a  free  man  than  as 
a  slave — that  he  is  increasing  in  criminality  with  fearful 
rapidity,  being  one-third  more  criminal  in  1890  than  he 


1 68  The  Negro  Problem 

was  in  1880.  The  startling  facts  revealed  by  the  census 
show  that  those  who  can  read  and  write  are  more  criminal 
than  the  illiterates,  which  is  true  of  no  other  element  of 
our  population. 

I  am  advised  that  the  minimum  illiteracy  among  the 
negroes  is  found  in  New  England,  where  it  is  21.7  per  cent. ; 
the  maximum  is  found  in  the  black  belt — Louisiana, 
Mississippi  and  South  Carolina — where  it  is  65.7  per  cent., 
and  yet  the  negro  in  New  England  is  four  and  one-half 
times  more  criminal,  hundred  for  hundred,  than  he  is  in 
the  black  belt. 

In  the  South — Mississippi  particularly — I  know  he  is 
growing  worse  every  year.  You  can  scarcely  pick  up  a 
newspaper  whose  pages  are  not  blackened  with  the  account 
of  an  unmentionable  crime  committed  by  a  negro  brute, 
and  this  crime,  I  want  to  impress  upon  you,  is  but  the 
manifestation  of  the  negroes'  aspiration  for  social  equality, 
encouraged  largely  by  the  character  of  free  education  in 
vogue  which  the  state  is  levying  tribute  upon  the  white 
people  to  maintain. 

He,  too,  demands  the  repeal  of  the  Civil  War  amendments 
to  the  Constitution,  in  order  that  the  negro  be  deprived  of 
even  an  appearance  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  citizen 
ship,  saying: 

The  nation  should  correct  this  stupendous  solecism, 
and  now  is  the  time  to  do  it.  I  believe  that  the  Southern 
people  should  take  the  initiative  in  the  matter,  for  they 
are  familiar  with  the  views  and  they  alone  are  capable 
of  informing  the  world  of  the  profound,  God-stamped, 
time-fixed  and  unalterable  incompetency  of  the  negro  for 
citizenship  in  a  white  man's  country. 

(7)  Governor  Davis  of  Arkansas,  and  Governor  Blanchard 
of  Louisiana,  are  each  upon  record  with  statements  of 
kindred  character. 


The  Solution  of  the  South  169 

(8)  Ex-Governor  Aycock,  of  North  Carolina,  some  time 
ago  at  a  public  dinner  well  expressed  the  present  sentiment 
of  the  thinking  population  of  the  South  upon  this  subject. 
He  says  that  so  far  as  his  state  is  concerned  the  negro  prob 
lem  has  been  solved,  and  in  his  own  words,  he  thus  states 
the  solution: 

It  is,  first,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  under  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment,  to  disfranchise  him ;  after  that  let  him  alone ; 
quit  writing  about  him,  quit  talking  about  him,  quit  mak 
ing  him  "the  white  man's  burden";  let  him  "tote  his  own 
skillet";  quit  coddling  him;  let  him  learn  that  no  man, 
no  race,  ever  got  anything  worth  having  that  he  did  not 
earn  himself,  that  character  is  the  outcome  of  sacrifice, 
and  worth  is  the  result  of  toil;  that  whatever  his  future 
may  be,  the  present  has  in  it  for  him  nothing  that  is  not 
the  product  of  industry,  thrift,  obedience  to  law  and 
uprightness. 

Here  certainly  we  have  a  fairly  definite  solution  of  this 
problem. 

(9)  Turning  northward  to  Maryland,  we  find  Governor 
Warfield  declaring: 

The  people  demand  that  the  state  shall  be  governed 
by  those  citizens  who,  because  of  their  intelligence,  their 
heredity  and  their  interest  in  the  material  welfare  of  the 
commonwealth  are  best  fitted  to  properly,  patriotically 
and  wisely  exercise  the  high  duties  of  citizenship. 

This  result  can  only  be  attained  by  an  amendment  to 
the  Constitution  fixing  a  higher  standard  of  qualification 
for  the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise.  I  believe  that 
an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  upon  the  lines  which  I 
have  suggested,  expressed  in  clear,  definite,  simple  terms, 
should  be  submitted  to  the  people  of  Maryland. 

The  State  of  Maryland  differs  in  some  degree  from  others 


170  The  Negro  Problem 

of  the  Southern  States  in  having  the  two  great  political 
parties  nearly  balanced,  and  yet  even  here  the  same  prin 
ciple  of  the  absolute  exclusion  of  the  negro  from  all  partici 
pation  in  governmental  affairs  is  contemplated.  At  the 
last  Republican  State  Convention  the  platform  adopted 
contains  this  declaration: 

The  Republican  party  of  the  State  of  Maryland  favors 
no  social  equality  among  the  races,  favors  no  negro  domi 
nation  over  the  white  people  here  or  elsewhere,  and  can 
be  depended  upon  to  guard  against  the  establishment  of 
either  of  these  conditions  here  in  Maryland. 

This  convention  was  presided  over  by  the  Honorable 
Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  now  Attorney- General  in  the  Cabinet 
of  President  Roosevelt,  and  doubtless  the  above  resolution 
expresses  with  substantial  accuracy  the  sentiment  of  the 
best  citizenship  of  Maryland  upon  the  subject. 

(10)  Virginia,  through  her  governor,  the  Honorable  Claude 
A.  Swanson,  presents  the  same  solution  of  the  problem: 

The  disfranchisement  of  the  negro  [said  he  in  his  ad 
dress  before  the  American  Bankers'  Association  at  Atlantic 
City,  September,  1907]  and  his  consequent  elimination  from 
politics  in  many  Southern  States  has  been  one  of  the 
greatest  factors  in  the  advancement  of  the  South. 

At  last  the  offices,  the  business  houses  and  the  financial 
institutions  of  the  South  are  in  the  hands  of  intelligent 
Anglo-Saxons,  and  with  God's  help  and  our  own  good  right 
arm  we  will  hold  him  where  he  is  for  his  own  good  and  our 
own  salvation. 

(n)  The  Honorable  John  Sharp  Williams,  of  Mississippi, 

after  a  close  and  bitter  contest,  was  selected  in  the  summer 

John  Sharp  °^  I9°7  ^v  the  people  of  his  state  to  represent 

Williams  on  them  in  the  United  States  Senate.     He  has  since 

had  conferred  upon  him  the  distinction  of  party 


The  Solution  of  the  South  171 

leadership  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  may  fairly 
be  deemed  to  represent  the  conservative  attitude  of  his 
section  upon  the  negro  question.  Incidentally  it  may 
be  noted  that  Mr.  Williams  comes  from  a  district  whose 
population  is  three-fourths  negro,  and  that  at  his  unani 
mous  election  in  1906  he  received  the  total  number  of  2091 
votes. 

Under  the  title  of  "The  Negro  and  the  South,"  in  the 
Metropolitan  Magazine  of  November,  1907,  Mr.  Williams 
turns  the  powers  of  his  observing  and  resourceful  intellect 
upon  this  intricate  question.  Here  at  least  we  might  expect 
to  find  light  and  leading,  but  as  we  turn  page  after  page 
of  his  article  we  find  the  same  familiar  complaint  as  to 
the  ignorance  and  prejudice  which  other  sections  of  the 
United  States  display  in  their  treatment  of  the  subject,  leading 
to  the  whimsical  suggestion  of  a  solution  by  the  distribution 
of  the  negro  evenly  throughout  the  country,  so  that  "a 
knowledge  of  the  negro  problem  may  be  carried  to  white 
men  in  other  parts  of  the  Union." 

After  that,  nothing,  save  the  time-worn  denunciation 
of  the  negro  for  his  ignorance  and  poverty,  and  the  usual 
glorification  of  the  measures  by  which  he  has  been  deprived 
of  the  franchise,  ending  with  optimistic  expressions  of  con 
fidence  that  in  some  way  "we  can  hope,  from  the  natural 
evolution  of  things,  for  a  solution  of  this  great  problem,  as 
of  most  others." 

We  might  continue  to  add  citation  after  citation.  Gover 
nors,  senators,  congressmen,  doctors,  lawyers,  editors,  busi 
ness  men,  authors,  all  classes  and  qualities  of  Southern 
citizenship  might  be  called  to  the  stand,  but  the  concurring 
testimony  of  nearly  all  would  be  as  hereinbefore  indicated. 
Under  the  stress  of  necessity  the  South  has  solved  the  negro 
problem  to  its  own  partial  satisfaction  by  eliminating  the 
black  man  as  a  political  or  social  factor,  and  relegating  him 


172  The  Negro  Problem 

to  the  position  of  an  industrial  inferior.  Let  us  see  how 
this  solution  works  out  in  its  concrete  results. 

While  the  foregoing  statements  embody  the  general 
theory  upon  which  the  Southern  solution  of  the  problem  is 
proceeding,  and  fairly  indicate  the  attitude  of  the  practical 
Southern  mind  upon  the  subject,  sentiment  on  the  matter 
is  not  entirely  unanimous.  There  is  another  and  slowly 
growing  school  of  Southern  thought  which  with  clearer 
insight  as  to  the  needs  and  welfare  of  the  section  and  with 
a  correct  apprehension  of  the  consequences  involved  in  the 
action  of  the  majority  seeks  to  solve  the  problem  in  an  en 
tirely  different  way.  We  shall  later  in  this  work  recur  to 
this  saner  and  more  satisfactory  solution. 

But,  in  the  mean  time,  having  carefully  read  and  thor 
oughly  digested  the  foregoing  extracts  from  representative 
Southern  statements,  and  noted  the  substantial  unanimity 
prevailing  among  those  entitled  to  speak  with  authority 
as  to  the  proper  position  of  the  negro  in  the  social,  political, 
and  economic  structure  of  society  in  the  Southern  States, 
we  are  now  in  a  situation  fairly  to  draw  therefrom  the  fol 
lowing  conclusion: 

BY  THE  GENERAL  CONSENSUS  OF  OPINION  IN  THE  SEC 
TION  MENTIONED,  THE  NEGRO  is  AN  INHERENTLY  INFERIOR 
The  BEING,  NOW  AND  FOREVER  INCAPABLE  OF  CIVILI- 

Southern       ZATION   OR   OF   PARTICIPATION   IN    GOVERNMENT; 

EXCLUDED  BY  NATURAL  DEFICIENCIES  FROM 
EQUAL  ASSOCIATION  IN  ANY  CAPACITY  WITH  THE  WHITE 
RACE,  AND  TO  BE  TOLERATED  ONLY  AS  A  DEPENDENT  AND 
SUBORDINATE  ELEMENT  OF  THE  COMMUNITY  IN  WHICH  HE 
is  FOUND.  THE  SOLUTION  OF  THE  NEGRO  PROBLEM  LIES 
IN  THE  ADOPTION  AND  MAINTENANCE  OF  SUCH  MEASURES 
AS  MAY  BE  REQUISITE  TO  RETAIN  HIM  IN  THIS  CONDITION. 
The  sentiment  of  the  South  is  the  same  to-day  as  it  was 
forty-eight  years  ago,  when  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  then 


The  Solution  of  the  South  173 

Vice-President  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  said  in  his 
celebrated  address  at  Savannah,  March,  1861,  speaking  of 
the  newly  founded  government: 

Its  foundations  are  laid,  its  corner  stone  rests,  upon  the 
great  truth,  that  the  negro  is  not  equal  to  the  white  man; 
that  slavery — subordination  to  the  superior  race — is  his 
natural  and  normal  condition. 

Out  of  the  chaotic  industrial  conditions  following  the 
Civil  War  and  the  turmoil  of  racial  strife,  the  South  is 
slowly  shaping  her  political  institutions,  her  industrial  or 
ganization  and  her  social  relations,  to  conform  with  the  ex 
istence  upon  her  soil  of  two  fundamentally  differing  races 
inextricably  intermingled,  the  one  asserting  its  natural  right 
to  compose  a  superior  governing  class  and  to  consign  the 
other  to  the  occupancy  of  a  subject  and  subordinate  position. 

It  by  no  means  follows  from  this  theory  of  permanent 
subordination  that  the  Southerner  hates  the  negro  or  would 
do  him  intentional  harm.  The  contrary  is  rather  the  case. 
The  descendants  of  the  old  master  retain  much  of  that  feeling 
of  personal  affection  for  the  dependent  black  man  which 
served  to  mitigate  the  asperities  of  slavery  and  lent  some 
thing  of  the  glamour  of  romance  to  that  sordid  institution. 
The  Southern  white  man  loves  the  "nigger"  in  much  the 
same  fashion  as  he  does  his  dog  or  his  horse.  He  slaps  him 
on  the  back,  laughs  with  him,  and  would  like  to  see  him 
thrive,  but  he  reserves  the  privilege  of  occasionally  kicking 
him  if  he  is  "impudent,"  or  shooting  him  offhand  if  guilty 
of  serious  infraction  of  the  law. 

He  derides  the  ability  of  the  negro  as  a  farmer,  but  is 
ready  to  rent  him  his  lands,  virtually  admitting  that  he 
cannot  get  along  without  him.  He  mocks  his  efforts  to 
acquire  education,  and  is  inwardly  hostile  to  the  acceptance 
of  aid  from  the  North  for  that  purpose,  and  in  many  localities 


174  The  Negro  Problem 

demands  that  the  amount  expended  for  educational  purposes 
in  negro  schools  should  be  only  in  proportion  to  the  taxes 
paid  by  that  race.  He  ignores  the  fact  that  the  negro  is 
largely  the  wealth  producer  of  the  section,  and  adopts 
the  outworn  theory  that  the  taxpayer  is  he  who  carries  the 
money,  product  of  labor,  to  the  tax-gatherer's  office.  The 
large  landowner  of  the  South — generally  land  poor — would 
prefer  to  lease  his  otherwise  unproductive  fields  to  an  igno 
rant,  thriftless  negro,  whom  he  can  cajole  or  coerce  into 
paying  an  extortionate  rent,  than  to  deal  with  a  more 
intelligent  and  self-respecting  white  tenant  who  would  be 
likely  to  demand  a  greater  proportionate  share  of  the  annual 
product. 

The  results  of  this  practical  acceptance  of  the  Southerner's 
solution  are  beginning  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  nation. 
They  are  just  such  results  as  might  be  expected 
the  Solu-  to  flow  from  the  measures  adopted.  As  has  been 
tion  of  the  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Mexico  the  vote  of  the  negro  has  been  substan 
tially  suppressed.  The  gravity  of  this  phase  of  the  situa 
tion  will  form  the  subject  of  a  subsequent  chapter,  where 
the  deplorable  results  certain  to  follow  from  this  cause  will 
be  demonstrated. 

The  social  condition  of  the  black  race  has  been  fixed  as 
dramatically  and  inexorably  as  the  tragic  laws  of  caste  are 
established  upon  the  plain  of  the  Ganges,  and  at  the  least 
effort  upon  his  part  to  surmount  the  social  barriers  erected 
against  him,  the  spirit  of  racial  animosity  asserts  itself  in 
bitter  antagonism.  In  many  sections  of  the  South  the  system 
of  peonage  is  fairly  well  established,  and  it  is  due  only  to 
the  repressive  sentiment  of  the  North  that  the  virtual  re- 
introduction  of  slavery  has  not  taken  place.  Can  any 
thoughtful  person  acquainted  with  the  facts  entertain  a  doubt 
that  were  the  South  a  separate  nation,  as  forty-seven  years 


The  Solution  of  the  South  175 

ago  it  aspired  to  make  itself,  the  institution  of  slavery  would 
gradually  be  re-established  within  its  territory? 

We  cannot  feel  that  the  best  thought  of  the  South  is  satis 
fied  with  this  solution,  and  we  must  believe  that  it  is  accepted 
as  the  best  possible  adjustment  under  the  circumstances 
rather  than  as  a  final  remedy  for  the  evils  arising  from  the 
presence  of  this  alien  people.  Upon  what  mysterious  con 
sideration,  then,  do  the  people  of  that  section  so  desire  to 
retain  with  them  the  negro,  whose  inveterate  depravity  and 
absolute  incapacity  for  improvement  they  so  emphatically 
assert?  Why  do  they  not  take  measures  to  eliminate  this 
disturbing  factor  from  their  social  and  industrial  life? 

The  answer  is  simple.  So  conservative  are  the  business 
habits  and  methods  of  thought  of  the  section,  so  dependent 
have  the  various  interests  become  upon  this  unreliable  race, 
that  the  very  mention  of  a  negro  exodus  evokes  a  protest 
of  indignant  alarm.  The  vocation  of  an  agent  sent  to  the 
Southern  States  to  induce  negroes  to  emigrate  is  not  esteemed 
particularly  safe  or  profitable.  In  Georgia  an  annual  tax 
of  $500  is  imposed  upon  this  occupation,  and  in  other  states 
drastic  measures  to  prevent  the  negroes  from  leaving  the 
community  are  employed  whenever  deemed  necessary. 

This,  then,  is  the  solution  of  the  South.  Enforced  to  its 
legitimate  conclusion,  its  effect  will  be  to  reduce  the  negro 
to  a  condition  of  perpetual  serfdom,  and  thus  to  blight  the 
future  prosperity  of  the  section;  to  continue  the  geographical 
estrangement  of  the  North  and  South,  and  to  keep  suspended 
over  the  nation  the  ever  present  danger  of  sectional  conflict. 

Moreover,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  this  vicious  solution 
is  now  in  practical  operation.  We  have  seen  in  our  survey 
of  the  present  condition  of  the  negro  to  what  an  alarming 
degree  he  has  been  eliminated  as  a  factor  in  the  citizenship 
of  the  communities  south  of  Pennsylvania. 

Should  it,  then,  be  a  matter  of  wonderment  if,  deprived 


176  The  Negro  Problem 

of  religious,  educational,  political,  and  social  equality,  ex 
cluded  from  the  polls  and  the  jury  box,  holding  his  life, 
liberty,  and  property  at  the  mercy  of  the  dominant  race,  the 
thinking  negro  is  slow  in  his  advancement,  sullen  and  re 
sentful  in  his  conduct?  Is  it  not  to  be  expected  that  race 
riots  will  increase  in  number  and  violence,  when,  in  strenuous 
opposition  to  the  enforcement  of  this  method  of  solution, 
leaders  of  the  race  such  as  Professor  DuBois  and  Professor 
Kelly  Miller  issue  pamphlets  denouncing  the  injustice  of 
the  negro's  treatment,  and  calling  upon  him  boldly  to  assert 
the  rights  secured  to  him  by  the  Federal  Constitution  ? 

The  solution  of  the  South  is  impossible.  Could  a  line 
be  drawn  between  North  and  South  across  which  the  black 

Impossibil-  man  must  not  &°  to  ^e  North,  and  across  which 
ity  of  this  the  white  dollar  and  the  white  schoolbook  must 
not  go  to  the  South,  the  solution  might  suffice  for 
temporary  purposes.  But  so  long  as  the  little  schoolhouse 
of  the  South  affords  the  negro  a  glimpse  of  the  advan 
tages  of  education;  so  long  as  Howard  University,  Atlanta 
University,  and  Tuskegee  Institute  summon  the  aspiring 
colored  youth  to  scholarship,  culture,  and  refining  asso 
ciations;  so  long  as  the  examples  of  the  scores,  yes,  hundreds 
of  negro  men  prominent  in  science,  teaching,  business,  law, 
and  literature  continue  to  incite  the  more  ambitious  members 
of  the  race  along  the  path  of  endeavor,  so  long  will  the  failure 
of  this  solution  be  inevitable. 

The  fallacy  of  this  proposed  solution  of  the  South  is  to  be 
found  in  the  assumption  that  in  this  country  you  can  give  to 
the  negro  educational  opportunity,  enable  him  to  accumu 
late  wealth  and  to  acquire  the  ownership  of  land,  while 
permanently  depriving  him  of  political  power.  To  what 
degree  is  he  to  be  allowed  education  under  this  new  theory 
of  permanent  vassalage?  Are  the  Bible  and  the  classics  to 
be  placed  in  his  hands  ?  Is  he  to  be  permitted  to  study  the 


The  Solution  of  the  South  177 

history  of  Greece,  to  interpret  the  record  of  the  inspiring 
struggles  of  Switzerland,  Holland,  and  England  for  civil 
freedom?  Shall  he  be  allowed  to  acquaint  himself  with 
the  wondrous  story  of  the  Hebrew  people,  emerging  prophet- 
led  from  the  house  of  bondage,  rising  through  the  dis 
cipline  of  suffering  and  captivity  by  the  sword  of  the 
Maccabees  and  the  intellect  of  its  merchants  and  scholars 
from  the  degradation  of  the  Ghetto  to  the  cabinets  of 
presidents  and  the  council  chambers  of  kings,  mounting 
from  the  penury  of  the  Orient  to  the  control  of  great  financial 
institutions  of  Europe  and  America?  Is  he  even  to  be 
allowed  to  know  the  history  of  his  own  race  in  its  contribu 
tions  to  the  cause  of  human  rights  and  its  conduct  on  the 
battle-fields  of  the  wars  of  the  nation?  Are  the  aspiring 
negro  youth  of  the  South  to  be  allowed  to  declaim  unchecked 
the  speech  of  Spartacus,  the  orations  of  Chatham,  and  the 
fiery  outbursts  of  Patrick  Henry;  to  read  Milton  on  Liberty, 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  Lincoln's  Gettysburg 
address,  and  then  to  be  expected  submissively  to  endure 
such  deprivations  and  humiliations  as  the  whites  may  see 
fit  to  impose  upon  them?  The  whole  experience  of  history 
gives  the  negative  answer  to  these  questions. 

The  slaveholding  oligarchy  of  the  South  was  wise  in  its 
day  and  generation  when  with  stringent  penalties  it  inter 
dicted  the  giving  of  even  elementary  instruction  to  the  slave. 
Unless  the  present  South  is  prepared  to  deny  to  the  negro 
not  only  political  privilege,  industrial  opportunity,  and  social 
recognition,  but  also  to  deprive  him  of  his  growing  educa 
tional  advantages,  its  solution  of  the  problem  is  foredoomed 
to  failure. 


CHAPTER  II 

LYNCHING  AS  AN  ELEMENT  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

If  my  own  city  of  Atlanta  had  offered  it  to-day  the  choice  between 
500  negro  college  graduates — forceful,  busy,  ambitious  men 
of  property  and  self-respect, — and  500  black  cringing  vagrants 
and  criminals,  the  popular  vote  in  favor  of  the  criminals  would 
be  simply  overwhelming.  Why?  Because  they  want  negro 
crime  ?  No,  not  that  they  fear  negro  crime  less,  but  that  they 
fear  negro  ambition  and  success  more. 

They  can  deal  with  crime  by  chain  gang  and  lynch  law,  or  at  least 
they  think  they  can,  but  the  South  can  conceive  neither 
machinery  nor  place  for  the  educated,  self-reliant,  self-asser 
tive  black  man. — PROFESSOR  W.  E.  BURGHARDT  DuBois,  Lec 
ture  before  Philadelphia  Divinity  School,  1907. 

WITHOUT  a  reference  to  the  brutalizing  practice  of 
lynching  so  well  established  in  one  section  of  the 
country,  any  discussion  of  the  negro  problem  would  be 
necessarily  incomplete.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  re 
pulsive  blemish  upon  our  national  fame  must  be  continually 
projected  into  observation  in  any  discussion  of  the  relation 
of  the  negro,  past  or  future,  to  the  white  man  in  our  re 
public.  The  writer  would  gladly  be  spared  the  unpleasant 
task  of  placing  before  his  readers  the  facts  contained  in  this 
chapter,  but  to  make  such  an  omission  would  be  purposely 
to  leave  the  consideration  of  the  subject  incomplete  by 
disregarding  what  is  beyond  question  one  of  the  most  painfully 
significant  aspects  of  the  problem.  The  absolute  necessity 
of  presenting  the  following  facts  in  order  that  no  essential 
element  of  the  situation  may  be  overlooked,  is  the  justifi- 

178 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    1 79 

cation  for  including  them  in  the  presentation  of  the  subject. 

The  words  "lynching"  and  "to  lynch"  are  of  modern 
origin,  although  the  practice  in  one  form  or  other  has  pre- 
Nature  of  vailed  for  centuries.  While  lexicographers  differ 
Lynching.  among  themselves  as  to  the  origin  of  the  terms, 
it  is  usual  to  ascribe  their  derivation  to  the  fact  that  a  Vir 
ginia  farmer  named  Lynch,  who  lived  in  Revolutionary  times, 
was  in  the  habit  of  administering  summary  justice  to  Tories 
and  desperadoes  in  the  years  immediately  following  the 
War  for  Independence. 

The  term  first  came  into  common  use  about  1830,  and 
since  that  date  has  been  quite  regularly  employed-to  describe 
the  practice  of  inflicting  punishment,  usually  capital,  without 
form  of  law,  by  a  mob  of  unauthorized  persons.  Originally 
its  meaning  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  any  unauthorized 
punishment  thus  administered,  but  of  recent  years  in  practice 
it  is  almost  exclusively  confined  to  cases  where  death  is 
the  result  of  unlawful  violence.  So  that  lynching  is  now 
practically  synonymous  with  summary  and  illegal  capital 
punishment  at  the  hands  of  a  mob. 

There  is,  however,  first  to  be  noted  a  clear  distinction 
between  the  practice  of  lynching  as  it  exists  in  a  frontier 
community,  where  under  unsettled  social  and  legal  con 
ditions  it  is  adopted  merely  as  a  temporary  expedient,  ex 
pected  to  fall  into  disuse  when  civil  government  and 
orderly  judicial  administration  become  firmly  established, 
and  the  practice  of  inflicting  illegal  punishment  where 
in  well  organized  communities  the  machinery  of  justice 
is  available,  and  by  the  orderly  procedure  of  law  the  rights 
of  citizens  may  be  safeguarded  and  criminals  regularly 
punished. 

Of  the  former  character  was  the  rough  and  ready  justice 
administered  in  the  frontier  settlements  of  this  country,  and 
especially  that  dispensed  by  the  vigilance  committees  who 


180  The  Negro  Problem 

exercised  a  wholesome  but  irregular  jurisdiction  over  the 
vicious  and  criminal  elements  of  the  population  of  California 
in  its  early  days.  We  must  carefully  discriminate  between 
the  lynching  which  is  the  only  recourse  of  an  unorganized 
community  for  the  establishment  of  justice,  and  which  in 
itself  is  a  sort  of  informal  legal  proceeding,  and  that  vicious 
and  despicable  character  of  lynch  law  which  exercises  its 
jurisdiction  in  defiance  of  law  in  supposedly  civilized  com 
munities,  and  flouts  with  its  violent  and  murderous  operations 
the  regularly  constituted  forces  of  justice. 

The  subject  of  this  chapter  being  the  relation  of  lynching 
of  the  latter  character  to  the  negro  problem,  we  may  ob 
serve  in  beginning  that  as  the  institution  of  slavery  was  of 
necessity  established  and  maintained  upon  a  basis  of  physical 
force,  in  derogation  of  the  natural  rights  of  the  individual, 
it  in  itself  constituted  a  variety  of  lynch  law.  But  this  species 
of  lynch  law  during  the  slavery  period  was  under  most 
circumstances  of  a  mild  description. 

So  long  as  the  blacks  were  valuable  as  slaves,  concubines, 
and  nurses  for  children,  and  accepted  their  inferior  position 
without  protest,  there  was  little  occasion  for  the  exercise  of 
more  violence  than  was  ordinarily  necessary  for  the  enforce 
ment  of  daily  discipline.  It  was  only  when  in  the  frenzy  of 
terror  aroused  by  the  prospect  of  slave  insurrection  the  slave 
holder  found  it  necessary  to  resort  to  harsher  methods,  that 
he  felt  the  need  of  inflicting  capital  punishment  upon  his 
chattel.  There  are  very  few  instances  recorded  during 
slavery  times  of  negroes  having  been  subjected  to  the 
death  penalty  other  than  by  the  regularly  constituted  legal 
authorities. 

Lynching,  then,  of  the  character  which  we  are  considering? 
— that  is,  lynching  in  defiance  of  regularly  constituted  au- 
The  Growth  thorities, — is  almost  entirely  a  growth  of  the 
of  Lynching.  period  subsequent  to  the  Civil  War.  When,  by 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    181 

the  measures  of  reconstruction,  the  very  foundations  of 
Southern  society  were  subverted,  and  the  ignorant,  untutored 
negro  was  placed  in  the  seat  of  political  power,  with  his 
former  master  relegated  to  disfranchised  obscurity,  the  clash 
between  the  races  became  unavoidable.  In  the  following 
years,  in  pursuance  of  that  instinct  of  control  which,  im 
planted  in  the  heart  and  brain  of  the  white  man,  causes 
him  to  refuse  submission  to  the  domination  of  an  inferior 
race,  he  resorted  to  physical  force  to  overturn  the  Southern 
state  governments,  already  in  a  condition  of  unstable 
equilibrium,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  all  sub 
sequent  violence,  and  in  its  train  originated  the  lynching 
problem. 

The  history  of  the  South  during  and  following  the  recon 
struction  period,  with  its  Ku-Klux-Klan  incidents,  the 
uprising  of  1870  in  New  Orleans,  the  various  political 
massacres  of  negroes  throughout  that  section  made  necessary 
for  the  securing  and  maintaining  of  white  domination,  is  the 
record  of  the  lynching  of  the  political  rights  of  the  negro 
race.  Following  this  era  of  violence,  there  has  continued 
to  the  present  time  throughout  the  Southern  States  the  prac 
tice  of  inflicting,  for  causes  weighty  or  unimportant,  illegal 
penalties  of  whipping,  banishment,  and  even  death  upon  the 
black  man.  Nor  upon  him  alone,  for,  as  the  statistics  es 
tablish,  in  much  the  same  measure  as  the  black  man  is  a 
sufferer  from  this  unlawful  violence,  his  white  neighbor 
in  the  same  community  is  subjected  to  like  invasion  of  his 
natural  rights  to  life  and  liberty. 

Before   further   discussing   the  lynching   problem  as   an 

element  of  the  more  inclusive  negro  question,  some  statistics 

setting  forth  the  magnitude  of  this  ghastly  evil 

Lynching.0  snoulcl  be  introduced.     The  following  records  are 

certainly  of  a  character  to  cause  us  to  pause  upon 

every  occasion  when  we  feel  called  upon  to  felicitate  ourselves 


1 82  The  Negro  Problem 

concerning  the  progress  and  prospects  of  our  American 
democracy. 

In  the  preparation  of  these  statistics  recourse  has  been 
had  to  the  very  complete  and  scholarly  work  of  Dr. 
James  Elbert  Cutler,  of  Wellesley  College,  in  which,  under 
the  title  of  "Lynch  Law,"  he  presents  the  results  of  a  most 
timely  and  valuable  investigation  of  the  subject  of  this 
species  of  violence  in  the  United  States.  Dr.  Cutler  himself 
in  his  book  acknowledges  his  obligation  to  the  Chicago 
Tribune,  which  has  published  at  the  close  of  each  year  for 
many  years  an  itemized  summary  of  the  lynchings  which 
have  taken  place  in  this  country. 

It  is  impossible,  of  course,  to  claim  absolute  accuracy 
in  regard  to  the  figures  here  presented.  From  the  very 
nature  of  the  case  there  can  be  no  official  statistics  on 
the  subject,  and  those  engaged  in  lynching  opera 
tions  would  quite  naturally  be  the  very  last  to  present 
to  the  investigator  any  data  on  the  question.  But  it  is 
believed  that  the  figures  here  presented  are  substantially 
accurate,  and  thus  constitute  a  sufficient  basis  for  a 
complete  understanding  of  the  magnitude  of  this  evil 
practice. 

These  statistics,  however,  refer  to  lynchings  strictly  so 
defined,  that  is,  to  the  execution  by  mobs  or  other  irregu 
larly  constituted  bodies  of  men  of  persons  accused  or  sus 
pected  of  crime.  They  do  not  embrace  the  casualties  in 
what  are  commonly  known  as  race  wars  in  the  South,  con 
flicts  in  which  the  contention  between  the  races  assumes 
something  of  the  form  of  battle,  or  massacre,  and  where  quite 
frequently  the  newspapers  close  the  account  of  the  incident 
with  a  remark  to  the  effect  that  "after  the  firing  ceased, 
the  negroes  retreated  to  the  swamps,  carrying  off  their  dead 
and  wounded."  Therefore,  the  figures  presented  in  the 
following  tables  represent  a  minimized  statement  of  the 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    183 

number  of   lives  illegally   taken  in  our  national  lynching 
operations. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  persons  lynched 
in  the  United  States  for  the  years  1882  to  1908  inclusive: 

TABLE  I. 

NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  LYNCHED. 

1882 114  1896 131 

1883 134  1897 165 

1884 211  1898 127 

1885 184  1899 107 

1886 138  1900 115 

1887 122  1901 135 

1888 142    1902 97 

1889 176      1903 104 

1890 128      1904 87 

1891 195    1905 66 

1892 235    1906 69 

1893 200      1907 63 

1894 197    1908 100 

1895 I^° 

Total 3,722 

There  is  certainly  abundant  food  for  thought  in  this 
table,  especially  when  we  ascertain  from  the  work  above 
quoted  that  the  number  thus  put  to  death  in  violation  of  law 
in  the  country  is  more  than  double  the  number  suffering 
death  during  the  same  period  by  legal  execution  of  sentence, 
and  that,  with  a  very  few  and  unimportant  exceptions,  no  one 
has  ever  been  punished  for  participation  in  these  3,722 
murderous  violations  of  law. 

The  record  for  1908  is  especially  startling.  It  appears 
from  the  carefully  compiled  statistics  of  the  Chicago  Tribune 
that  during  that  year  100  lynchings  took  place,  while  the 
number  of  legal  executions  throughout  the  country  was  but 
92.  Of  the  100  persons  thus  illegally  deprived  of  life,  93 
were  negroes  and  97  resided  in  the  Southern  States. 

The  following  table  shows  the  proportion  lynched  for 
various  causes  in  the  period  1882  to  1903,  the  figures  not 
having  been  brought  down  to  the  present  time. 


1 84  The  Negro  Problem 

TABLE  II. 

IN  THE  WHOLE  COUNTRY.  IN   THE   SOUTHERN   STATES. 

Cause.     Whites  and  Others.        Negroes.       Whites  and  Others.       Negroes. 

Murder 628  (49-2%)  783  (38      %)  321  (53-5%)  753   (38     %) 

Theft 264  (20.6%)   101   (  4-9%)  63  (10.5%)     96  (  4.8%) 

Rape 109  (  8.5%)  707  (34-3%)  69  (11.5%)  675   (34     %) 

Desp'r'dism    93  (7.3%)     20  (      .9%)  30  (   5      %)     18  (      .9%) 

Unknown...    89  (   7      %)     90  (  4.3%)  50  (  8.3%)     87   (  4.3%) 

Min.    offen's  52  (  4     %)  208  (10.1%)  42  (   7      %)  206  (10.3%) 

Arson 31   (  2.4%)   104  (   5      %)  19  (  3.2%)   104  (   5.2%) 

Assault ii  (      .8%)     47  (  2.3%)  6  (   i      %)     46  (  2.3%) 

The  next  tables  show,  by  states,  the  statistics  of  the  number 
of  persons  lynched  from  1882  to  1903,  divided  between  the 
Southern  States  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Eastern  and  North 
ern  States  on  the  other,  the  extreme  Western  States  being 
omitted  for  the  reason  that  during  that  period  the  character 
of  lynchings  in  the  last-named  section,  as  above  stated,  was 
principally  of  the  frontier  order  and  not  properly  the  subject 
of  this  investigation. 

TABLE  III. 

NUMBER    OF    PERSONS     LYNCHED    IN     SOUTHERN     STATES,     1882—1903 

Whites.  Negroes.  Others.       Total. 

Mississippi 39  294  i            334 

Texas 114  199  n            324 

Louisiana "       34  232  19  285 

Georgia 28  241  269 

Alabama 46  198  244 

Arkansas 60  139  i            200 

Tennessee 49  150  199 

Kentucky 64  103  167 

Florida 19  115  134 

South  Carolina 8  109  117 

Missouri 49  42  91 

Virginia 21  70  91 

North  Carolina 15  48  i              64 

West  Virginia 19  27  46 

Maryland 2  18  20 


Total 567         1,985  33         2,585 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    185 


TABLE  IV. 


NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  LYNCHED   IN   NORTHERN   AND   EASTERN   STATES, 

1882-1903. 


Indiana 

Ohio 

Illinois 

Michigan.  .  .  . 
Pennsylvania 
Wisconsin.  .  . 
New  York.  .  .  . 
New  Jersey.  .  . 
Connecticut.  . 
Delaware. . 


Whites. 

Negroes. 

Others. 

41 

11 

10 

II 

II 

1O 

7 

I 

2 

5 

6 

I 

i 

i 

Total. 
52 

21 

21 

8 

I 

2 

I 
T 
I 


Total, 


79 


The  following  table  displays  the  total  number  of  per 
sons  lynched  throughout  the  country  for  the  period  above 
mentioned  : 


TABLE  V. 

TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  LYNCHED,    1882-1903. 


Southern 

Western 

Eastern.  . 


Whites.  Negroes. 

567  i,985 

523  34 

79  4i 


Others.        Total. 
33          2,585 


75 


632 

I2O 


Total 1,169        2,060 


108        3,337 


The  following  table  gives  by  states  the  statistics  of  lynch- 
ings,  furnished  by  Mr.  Upton  of  the  Chicago  Tribune  for 
the  years  1904-1905  and  the  first  half  of  1906: 


TABLE  VI. 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maryland 


1904. 

5 
17 

2 


1905.  1906. 

fist  half) 
3 


3 
5 

o 
I 

II 
o 
4 
4 
o 


1 86 


The  Negro  Problem 

TABLE  VI— Continued. 


Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nevada 

Ohio 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Wyoming 

Indian  Territory 


Total 

South. 

North 

Negro. 
White. . 


1904. 

18 
o 
o 
i 

i 

5 

2 

4 
4 

i 


87 
82 

83 
4 


1905. 

1906. 
(ist  half) 

17 

5 

I 

3 

I 

o 

o 

o 

I 

4 

3 

4 

3 

i 

ii 

3 

i 

o 

o 

o 

o 

2 

66 

45 

65 

45 

i 

o 

61 

4i 

5 

4 

The  following  table  shows  the  causes  ascribed  for  lynch- 
ings  during  the  years  1904,  1905,  1906: 


TABLE  VII. 


Murder 87 

Rape........ 58 

Race  prejudice 20 

Murderous  assault 12 

Conspiracy  to  murder.. .    2 

Insults 3 

Threats .  .  .    i 


Robbery 6 

Kidnapping i 

Elopement i 

Informing i 

Mistaken  identity i 

Unknown 4 

Arson i 

198 


The  succeeding  table  gives  by  way  of  contrast  the  total 
number  of  persons  sentenced  to  death  and  those  upon 
whom  the  sentence  was  executed  in  England  and  Wales 
for  the  ten  years  1896-1905  inclusive,  forming  a  striking 
contrast  when  we  take  into  consideration  the  rigorous 
method  in  which  punishment  for  crime  is  inflicted  in  those 
countries. 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    187 

TABLE  VIII. 

NUMBER  OF  PERSONS   SENTENCED    AND   EXECUTED   IN   ENGLAND   AND 
WALES 1896  TO    1905,   INCLUSIVE. 


Year. 
1806 

Sentenced. 
.  •  3^  . 

Executed. 
20 

1807 

14. 

6 

1808 

27 

.  .  1  1 

1  800 

20 

.  .  i  < 

IQOO 

2O  

.'.  X3 

IQOI 

28  

1C 

I  9O2 

•2  -J 

22 

I  QO3 

4.O 

.  ,  27 

I  QO4. 

28   

16 

IQO?.  . 

.  .  T2  .  . 

.  .  17 

When  we  essay  to  discuss  the  causes  which  impel  the 
people  of  this  country  to  this  unparalleled  exhibition  of 
Causes  of  savagery,  we  are  at  a  loss  at  first  to  account  for 
Lynching,  ^he  existence  of  such  a  sinister  record.  We  soon 
note,  however,  that  lynching  is  a  crime  peculiar  to  our  own 
country,  in  the  sense  that  is  it  the  only  country  in  the  world 
holding  high  rank  as  a  civilized  community  where  the 
practice,  as  defined,  prevails.  Other  nations  contain  their 
turbulent  elements,  causing  social  or  political  uprisings, 
at  times  demanding  the  severest  exercise  of  governmental 
powers  for  their  repression.  Crimes  of  violence  and  disorder 
are  far  from  being  unknown,  but  in  no  other  country,  so  far 
as  our  information  goes,  does  the  practice  of  the  irregular 
administration  of  the  death  penalty  obtain. 

Dr.  Cutler,  in  his  work  on  Lynch  Law  above  referred  to, 
after  asserting  that  the  number  of  executions  by  mobs  in 
the  United  States  far  exceeds  the  number  of  executions 
conducted  in  pursuance  of  due  process  of  law,  calls  attention 
to  this  fact;  and  Professor  James  Wilford  Garner,  of  the 
University  of  Illinois,  in  a  recent  magazine  article  upon  the 
subject,  says,  referring  to  Dr.  Cutler's  statistics: 

Such  a  record  shows  a  reign  of  lawlessness  in  the  United 


1 88  The  Negro  Problem 

States  unparalleled  by  that  of  any  other  civilized  nation. 
In  England,  a  country  peopled  by  the  same  race  as  ours  and 
having  a  system  of  law  similar  to  our  own,  there  has  not 
been  a  case  of  lynching,  I  believe,  within  the  memory  of 
any  man  now  living. 

The  number  of  lynchings  in  Mississippi  alone  during  the 
year  1908  was  greater  than  the  average  number  of  executions 
m  England  and  Wales  during  the  past  ten  years.  The 
significance  of  this  fact  is  one  which  must  impress  itself 
upon  all  contemplative  minds. 

A  further  and  kindred  peculiarity  in  relation  to  the  subject 
of  lynching  then  forces  itself  upon  our  notice.  While  the 
practice  is  not  entirely  peculiar  to  the  Southern  section  of  the 
country,  it  is  in  that  region  where  it  finds  its  most  violent 
manifestation.  It  is  always  in  a  measure  associated  with 
the  distribution  of  the  negro  population,  its  proportions  fol 
lowing  with  almost  unvarying  ratio,  both  as  to  its  black  and 
white  victims,  the  figures  of  the  negro  population  as  shown 
by  the  census.  In  other  words,  where  the  negro  is,  there 
lynching  is;  where  few  negroes  are  found  no  lynchings 
occur. 

By  the  tables,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Alabama,  and 
Georgia  enjoy  the  evil  pre-eminence  of  leading  the  lynching 
column,  while  during  the  period  covered  by  the  statistics 
the  whole  of  New  England  has  produced  but  one  lynching, 
and  that  of  doubtful  character;  the  Middle  States  but  seven, 
all  of  negroes:  and  the  great  Central  Western  States  but 
very  few,  and  those  principally  of  that  unfortunate  race. 

With  this  consideration  of  the  foregoing  facts,  we  are 
enabled  to  reach  the  source,  cause,  and  fertile  origin  of  the 
practice  of  lynching,  viz., — THE  NEGRO. 

Lynching,  as  it  exists  in  this  country,  is  the  product  of 
the  racial  antipathy  existing  between  the  Caucasian  and  the 
negro,  and  while  its  evil  results  objectively  are  not  entirely 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    189 

confined  to  the  people  of  the  latter  race,  the  presence  of  the 
negro  element  is  the  certain  cause  of  the  origin  of  the  evil. 
The  grounds  for  this  cannot  be  better  stated  than  they  are 
in  the  work  above  referred  to,  Cutler's  Lynch  Law  (p.  200 
et  seq.): 

On  both  physical  and  psychic  grounds  there  is  reason 
for  an  antagonistic  feeling  between  the  white  race  and  the 
black  race.  Physically  there  is  great  diversity  between 
the  racial  types  of  the  two  races.  The  color  of  the  negro's 
skin,  his  kinky  hair,  and  his  general  physiognomy,  especially 
his  flat  nose  and  protruding  lips  with  receding  (actual  or 
apparent)  forehead, — all  are  widely  diverse  from  the  white 
man's  standard  of  beauty  and  symmetry.  Measured  by 
the  Caucasian  ideal,  the  features  of  the  negro  are  coarse 
and  animal-like.  To  most  white  persons,  also,  the  odor 
arising  from  an  assemblage  of  negroes  is  extremely  dis 
agreeable,  and  some  negroes  say  that  they  find  the  odor 
of  white  persons  similarly  distasteful.  With  reference  to 
the  psychic  characteristics  of  the  two  races,  their  intel 
lectual  and  moral  traits,  there  is  even  greater  diversity. 
In  their  religion,  and  essential  manners,  customs  and 
habits  of  thought,  the  differences  are  so  great  as  to  con 
stitute  almost  opposite  extremes.  There  is  a  total  lack 
of  anything  like  a  community  of  interest  between  the  two 
races.  Members  of  the  white  race  and  of  the  black  race 
do  not  find  satisfaction  in  intermarriage  and  mingling 
together  around  the  hearthstone.  The  whites  and  the 
blacks  never  have  associated  and  do  not  to-day  associate 
together  in  public  and  in  private  as  one  people. 

When  the  two  races,  occupying  the  same  territory  and 
living  side  by  side,  differ  so  widely  in  their  physical  features, 
in  their  interests  and  in  their  attainments,  as  do  the  white 
and  colored  races  in  this  country,  it  is  most  natural  and 
indeed  almost  inevitable  that  prejudice  should  arise  between 
them.  The  institution  of  slavery  has  no  doubt  created  a 
caste  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  master  race,  and  yet  this  is 


190  The  Negro  Problem 

but  the  strengthening  and  deepening  of  a  natural  race 
antipathy,  the  causes  for  which  are  evident.  Slavery  merely 
intensified  a  feeling  that  was  due  to  other  causes.  It  is 
an  error  to  say  that  slavery  has  been  the  cause  of  all  the 
prejudice  against  the  negro.  It  is  true  that  the  black  race 
long  wore  the  chain  of  slavery  and  was  regarded  as  an 
inferior  race,  and  this  was  true  in  the  United  States  as  well 
as  elsewhere;  but  the  reason  for  the  antagonistic  feeling 
lies  deeper  than  that  fact. 

The  Southerner,  in  his  attempted  justification  of  the 
lynching  of  negroes  in  recent  years,  alleges  as  the  provoking 

Attem  ts  to  cause  tne  crime  °f  raPe  as  directed  against  white 
Justify  women  and  children,  and  upon  this  allegation 
img*  builds  up  a  plausible  argument  for  the  continuance 
of  the  practice.  It  would  be  easy  to  establish,  from  the 
statistics  above  exhibited,  that  in  only  a  minority  of  instances 
is  even  the  accusation  of  rape  made  against  the  victim  of 
lynch  law.  As  the  very  fact  of  lynching  implies  the  ab 
sence  of  judicial  investigation,  there  is  no  means  of  ascer 
taining  to  what  degree  the  charge  may  be  true  in  any 
individual  case. 

Doubtless  there  is  upon  the  part  of  the  Southern  black 
man  a  growing  tendency  to  perpetrate  this  species  of  crime, 
which  was  practically  unknown  while  the  negro  was  in  a 
condition  of  slavery.  The  Southerner  bases  upon  this 
fact  the  argument  now  becoming  familiar,  that  the  horrible 
crimes  against  women  and  children  which  lead  to  the  fre 
quent  lynching  of  negroes  are  but  the  manifestation  of  the 
black  man's  aspiration  for  social  equality,  encouraged  largely 
by  the  character  of  the  education  which  he  receives  in  higher 
institutions  of  learning,  and  which  unfits  him  for  remaining 
contentedly  in  his  subordinate  position. 

This  startling  theory  is  adopted  by  Thomas  Nelson  Page 
in  an  article  in  the  North  American  Review  of  some  three 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem     191 

years  ago,  entitled  "Lynching  of  Negroes,  its  Cause  and 
Prevention,"  and  certainly  the  belief  is  becoming  prevalent 
in  the  South  that  the  shocking  crimes  against  white  women 
and  children  which  inflame  the  lynching  spirit  are  mainly 
due  to  racial  antagonism  and  the  disappointed  desire  for 
social  equality  which  rankles  in  the  mind  of  the  ignorant 
and  undisciplined  negro. 

No  purpose  exists  on  the  part  of  the  writer  to  insult  the 
intelligence  of  his  readers  by  dwelling  upon  the  familiar 
justifications  set  forth  by  the  advocates  of  lynching.  No 
one  who  correctly  understands'  the  principles  of  our  demo 
cratic  form  of  government  and  who  realizes  in  full  measure 
the  results  which  inevitably  flow  from  the  open  and  systematic 
defiance  of  the  law,  can  for  a  moment  countenance  or  give 
heed  to  the  puerile  arguments  advanced  by  those  who  desire 
to  set  at  defiance  the  first  principles  of  civilized  government. 

All  arguments  based  upon  a  higher  or  unwritten  law; 
upon  the  failure  of  juries  to  perform  their  duties  in  con 
scientious  fashion;  upon  the  inadequacy  or  delay  of  legal 
proceedings;  or  upon  any  other  of  the  fanciful  excuses  some 
times  advanced  to  condone,  if  not  to  justify,  the  heinous 
practice  of  lynching,  are  unworthy  of  a  moment's  considera 
tion.  If  a  community  is  sufficiently  depraved  in  spirit  and 
so  lacking  in  its  just  conception  of  the  demands  of  justice 
as  to  countenance  the  savage  murder  of  presumptively  inno 
cent  human  beings,  any  excuse  will  serve.  The  old  Spanish 
proverb  runs,  "If  you  desire  to  beat  your  dog,  you  need 
only  say  'He  has  swallowed  the  tongs.'  : 

The  evil  effects  of  lynching  upon  a  community  in  which 
such  a  practice  is  tolerated  are  scarcely  susceptible  of  ex- 
Effects  of  aggeration.  It  is  the  orderly  administration  of 
Lynching.  justice  which  is  the  distinguishing  mark  of  a 
civilized  community.  It  has  been  said  of  old,  that  the  one 
great  purpose  of  the  English  constitution  was  to  get  twelve 


192  The  Negro  Problem 

honest,  independent  men  into  the  jury  box.  And  any  com 
munity  which  will  view  with  apathy  the  practice  which  is 
the  subject  of  discussion  in  this  chapter,  no  matter  what 
plausible  arguments  may  be  advanced  to  support  it,  shows 
itself  to  be  lacking  in  those  qualities  which  distinguish  the 
civilized  man  from  the  savage. 

Consider  for  a  moment  the  fact  that  in  all  the  lynchings 
of  negroes  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  tables,  so  far  as  statistics 
show,  only  three  persons  have  ever  been  convicted  of  the 
offence.  Hundreds,  yes,  thousands  of  men  walk  the  streets 
of  the  cities  and  towns  of  this  country,  associated  with  other 
men  in  business  and  social  life,  well  known  to  all  to  be  untried 
murderers.  Their  fathers,  mothers,  wives,  and  children  are 
familiar  with  the  fact,  and  in  many  instances  the  participants 
in  a  lynching  proudly  confess  their  connection  with  the 
transaction. 

The  general  deterioration  of  character,  the  incentive  to 
other  crimes,  the  loss  of  self-respect  attendant  upon  par 
ticipation  in  this  species  of  crime,  lower  the  standard  of  a 
community  far  below  any  possibility  of  computation.  More 
might  be  said  upon  this  subject,  but  the  conclusion  that 
degradation  must  follow  from  the  tolerance  of  such  a  practice 
is  so  obvious  that  further  discussion  is  unnecessary. 

In  order  that  those  of  the  readers  of  this  work  who  may 
not  have  given  the  matter  the  attention  which  it  demands 
A  Few  may  understand -the  gravity  of  the  situation  re- 
Sample  vealed  by  these  lynchings,  a  brief  description  of 
some  of  the  more  recent  incidents  of  this  order 
may  not  be  out  of  place.  The  statement  may  be  premised 
by  saying  that  these  examples  taken  from  the  history  of  the 
past  few  years  are  not  in  any  sense  indicative  of  a  new 
condition  of  the  lynching  problem,  but  merely  note  the 
continuation  of  the  dark  and  bloody  record  of  this  species 
of  crime,  which  goes  back  to  the  days  immediately  succeed- 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    193 

ing  the  Civil  War,  and  may  be  regarded  simply  as  extraor 
dinary  or  unusual  incidents  of  this  character  still  fresh  in 
the  memory  of  the  public. 

Springfield,  Ohio,  is  a  prosperous  city  of  some  41,000 
people,  having  in  the  year  1904  a  population  of  about  2500 
Springfield,  negroes;  this  class  of  population  having  been  for 
Ohio.  various  reasons  unusually  numerous  in  that 

place  in  proportion  to  the  whites.  According  to  the  de 
scriptions,  these  negroes  were,  as  indeed  nearly  all  negroes 
in  Northern  cities  are,  a  worthless  and  venal  class,  there 
being  many  negro  saloons  and  disorderly  houses  where  the 
lowest  of  the  low,  dissolute  negroes  and  still  more  dissolute 
whites,  held  rendezvous. 

On  March  7,  1904,  a  mob  gathered  and  took  from  the 
county  jail  a  negro  accused  of  murder,  slaughtered  him  in 
cold  blood  at  the  jail  doorway,  dragged  the  body  through 
the  principal  business  street,  and  hanged  it  to  a  telegraph 
pole,  afterward  riddling  it  with  bullets.  The  corpse  hung 
there  for  the  next  day,  an  unspeakable  grisly  horror,  the 
subject  of  jesting  comment  for  the  unlawful  elements  of  the 
community.  Not  contented  with  this  foul  work,  the  mob 
in  gathering  numbers  went  further,  the  spirit  of  anarchy 
spreading  through  the  town,  and  drove  all  the  negro  popula 
tion  out  of  the  city,  burning  many  houses,  beating  and  mu 
tilating  the  unfortunate  blacks.  For  several  days  the  city 
was  in  a  state  of  riot.  The  state  militia  had  to  be  called  in 
to  restore  and  preserve  order,  and  finally,  after  the  turbulent 
element  had  been  quelled  and  the  excitement  had  sub 
sided,  it  was  found,  strangely  enough,  that  no  one  was 
guilty,  nothing  had  happened,  and  the  crimes  of  mur 
der,  assault,  arson,  and  highway  robbery  are  to  this  day 
unpunished. 

September  22,  1906,  there  occurred  in  Atlanta,  Georgia, 
an  affair  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  parallel  in  atrocity 


194  The  Negro  Problem 

with  anything  that  has  recently  happened  in  any  country 
claiming  to  be  in  a  state  of  civilization.  Lest  there  should 
Atlanta,  be  an  inclination  to  state  the  matter  too  forcibly, 
Georgia.  recourse  is  had  to  the  newspaper  account  of  the 
affair,  which  sets  out  some  incidents  of  its  almost  unspeak 
able  horror. 

NEGROES  SHOT  LIKE  DOGS 

TEN     KILLED    AND     ABOUT    FIFTY    WOUNDED    IN    ATLANTA 

ASSAULTS     ON     WHITE    WOMEN    AROUSE     A    MURDEROUS 

MANIA    IN    THE    TOWN NOT    ONE    MOB     BUT     MANY    IN 

VARIOUS     PARTS    OF    THE    CITY    DO     THE     WORK MANY 

NEGROES  CLUBBED. 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  Sept.  22. — Ten  dead  negroes  and  probably 
half  a  hundred  persons  suffering  from  more  or  less  serious 
wounds  is  the  result  of  a  lynching  mania  which  seized  upon 
the  white  people  of  Atlanta  to-night.  It  was  caused  by 
criminal  assaults  on  three  white  women  which  followed 
one  another  in  quick  succession  shortly  after  8  o'clock  to 
night.  The  Atlanta  whites  have  been  greatly  incensed 
against  the  negroes  because  of  nine  assaults  committed 
in  the  last  two  months  on  white  women  by  negroes,  and 
the  three  assaults  to-night  were  sufficient  to  put  the  mob 
spirit  in  action. 

As  soon  as  the  assaults  were  announced  by  the  night 
extras  the  cry  of  "Kill  the  negroes!"  was  heard  in  every 
section  of  the  city  and  the  deadly  work  began.  There  was 
not  one  great  mob  but  scores  of  small  mobs  made  up  of 
young  men  and  half  grown  boys  operating  against  the  negroes 
in  various  sections  of  the  city.  Wherever  a  negro  was  seen 
he  was  made  the  target  for  bullets,  knives,  sticks,  shovels 
and  every  other  weapon  that  was  obtainable.  Several 
of  the  negroes  were  literally  beaten  to  death.  Most  of 
the  negroes  killed  met  their  doom  in  street  cars.  The 
mobs  would  watch  for  the  cars  and  when  a  negro  was  seen 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    195 

inside,  the  car  would  be  stopped  and  the  negro  either  killed 
or  beaten  half  to  death. 

Two  negroes  were  killed  on  a  Forsyth  street  car  in  plain 
view  of  the  editorial  rooms  of  the  Atlanta  Constitution. 
The  mob  saw  two  negro  men  on  the  car,  accompanied  by 
two  women.  They  were  captured.  The  negro  women  were 
forced  to  get  out  and  the  negroes  were  shot  to  death. 

Subsequent  descriptions  added  to  the  horror  of  this  ac 
count.  After  the  negroes  were  killed,  in  sheer  wantonness 
of  savagery  the  mob  dragged  their  bodies  across  the  street 
to  the  monument  erected  to  the  honor  of  Henry  W.  Grady, 
editor,  orator,  and  champion  of  the  New  South,  and  there 
around  the  statue  of  that  noble  man  were  piled  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  victims.  Little  children,  passing  to  and  fro 
from  school,  were  witnesses  of  the  bloody  work.  Women 
paused  in  their  shopping  tours  to  witness  horrors  scarcely 
equalled  by  torturing  Apache  Indians. 

Little  was  done  by  the  police  or  military  authorities  until 
after  the  race  riot  had  proceeded  to  its  end.  There  was  no 
question  as  to  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  any  of  the  parties,  and 
no  claim  has  ever  been  made  that  out  of  the  twelve  to  fifteen 
negroes  murdered,  or  of  the  scores  assaulted,  any  one  was 
guilty  of  any  transgression  whatever.  In  fact,  it  is  charged 
by  Professor  DuBois,  of  Atlanta  University,  that  those  who 
were  subjected  to  the  attack  were  principally  representatives 
of  the  more  orderly,  respectable,  and  prosperous  element  of 
the  negro  citizens  of  Atlanta.  Certainly  the  fact  that  no 
pretence  has  ever  been  made  that  any  of  the  slaughtered  men 
was  connected  with  crime  is  in  itself  a  fact  of  tremendous 
significance. 

But  why  add  to  the  horrors  of  this  description?  The 
whole  body  of  negro  residents  of  the  city  was  terrorized  and 
driven  to  seek  hiding  places,  so  that  when  order  was  restored 
by  the  military  within  a  day  or  two,  the  negro  inhabitants 


196  The  Negro  Problem 

of  Atlanta  had  practically  disappeared.  The  newspaper 
reports  say  that  the  white  people  for  a  day  or  two  were  com 
pelled  to  do  their  own  household  work,  as  all  negro  help 
had  sought  shelter  to  await  the  cessation  of  the  murderous 
assaults.  If  the  reader  wishes  to  realize  the  extent  of  the 
savagery  to  which  mankind  is  capable  of  descending  at  the 
present  day,  no  better  field  of  study  may  be  found  than 
the  account  of  the  Atlanta  massacre  of  September,  1906,  of 
which  an  accurate  and  temperate  account  may  be  found 
in  the  American  Magazine  for  April,  1907. 

Now,  what  is  the  result  ?  First,  the  negroes,  at  least  those 
of  the  better  class,  are  leaving  Atlanta,  leaving  the  city 
whose  name  is  forever  tarnished  by  this  horrible  incident, 
and  whose  reputation  to-day  stands  in  the  same  rank  with 
that  of  Kisheneff  and  Erzeroum. 

Second,  those  of  the  race  who  remain  carry  in  their  hearts 
the  spirit  of  sullen  hatred  towards  the  white  race,  and  only 
await  the  day  when  in  some  fashion  or  in  some  manner 
revenge  may  be  theirs.  Among  those  leaving,  or  rather  ban 
ished  from,  Atlanta  is  the  Reverend  Dr.  W.  J.  White,  for 
the  last  thirty  years  editor  of  the  Georgia  Baptist,  of  Au 
gusta,  Georgia,  who  took  it  upon  himself  to  make  some  perti 
nent  comments  upon  the  slaughter  of  his  countrymen  and 
soon  sought  safety  in  exile.  And  throughout  the  North  we 
find  negroes  meeting  to  discuss  the  massacre  and  listening 
to  addresses  breathing  a  bitter  resentment  against  the 
enemies  of  their  race.  Those  of  kindlier  spirit  met  in  the 
churches  in  the  North  on  a  day  specially  set  apart  for  prayer 
asking  the  great  Ruler  of  the  Universe  to  soften  the  hearts 
of  their  oppressors. 

On  October  7, 1906,  the  Reverend  T.  W.  Henderson,  pastor 
of  the  African  Bethel  Church  in  West  25th  Street,  New  York 
City,  referring  to  the  recent  massacre,  thus  addressed  his 
audience  in  prayer: 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    197 

O  Lord,  if  ever  thy  spirit  is  allowed  to  obtain  dominion 
over  our  cruel  oppressors  of  the  South,  then  the  brother 
hood  of  man  and  the  Fatherhood  of  God  will  prevail. 
Our  people  have  made  the  South  rich  by  their  unpaid  toil, 
but  to-day  all  of  their  goodness  and  their  kindness  to  their 
oppressors  availeth  not.  Therefore,  Lord,  extend  over 
us  thy  protecting  care. 

And  again,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1906,  in  New  York 
City  the  negro  churches  held  services,  praying  for  a  better 
era  in  the  future  in  which  their  race  should  not  be  subjected 
to  the  oppression  of  that  unfortunate  year. 

Christmas,  1906,  the  race  war  broke  out  again,  in  Kemper 
County,  Mississippi,  and  before  the  slaughter  had  subsided 
Kem  er  ™ne  negroes  were  killed  and  an  indefinite  number 
County  wounded,  while  one  white  man  had  also  been  a 
victim  of  this  outbreak  of  racial  animosity.  The 
details  are  of  the  usual  and  almost  unvarying  character — • 
trouble  between  the  races,  negroes  are  impudent  and  quarrel 
some  and  the  whites  begin  shooting,  militia  are  called  to  the 
scene,  order  is  restored,  it  is  found  that  quite  a  number  of 
negroes  have  been  killed  and  an  unknown  number  wounded; 
in  fact,  in  the  Kemper  County  incident,  the  newspapers  nar 
rated  that  after  the  hostilities  had  ceased,  quite  a  number  of 
negro  bodies  were  found  in  various  places;  but  quiet  is  re 
stored,  terror  is  infused  into  the  hearts  of  the  blacks,  and 
civilization  progresses.  No  accusation  is  made  that  anybody 
in  particular  has  been  guilty  of  any  crime,  no  effort  whatever 
is  made  to  punish  the  known  lynchers.  In  such  case,  not  to 
punish  is,  in  effect,  to  approve. 

i.  The  horror  of  the  Wilmington,  Delaware,  lynching, 
in  which  a  negro  was  burned  at  the  stake  for  an  alleged 
Other  assault,  is  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the  reading 

Lynchmgs.  public.  In  this,  as  in  other  instances,  no  serious 
effort  was  ever  made  to  ascertain  or  convict  the  perpetrators 


198  The  Negro  Problem 

of  the  crime.  The  usual  coroner's  verdict  of  death  by  causes 
unknown,  or  justifiable  homicide,  being  returned,  the  nec 
essary  formalities  are  regarded  as  having  been  observed. 

2.  In   Chattanooga,   Tennessee,   not  satisfied   with   the 
conduct  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  which  granted 
an  appeal  to  a  negro  convicted  of  a  capital  crime  and  sen 
tenced  to  be  hanged,  the  mob  took  the  accused  from  the 
jail  and  hanged  him  to  a  pier  of  the  county  bridge.     The 
action  of  the  mob  in  doing  this  has  been  made  the  subject 
of  investigation  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in  a 
proceeding  to  punish  the  sheriff  for  contempt  in  allowing 
the  process  of  the  court  to  be  thus  disregarded.     But  the 
negro  is  dead,  contempt  proceedings  scarcely  attract  atten 
tion,  and  the  community  is  ready  for  the  administration  of 
further  justice  upon  the  same  principle. 

3.  In  Annapolis,  Maryland,  December  21,  1906,  a  mob 
broke  into  the  jail,  seized  a  negro  accused  of  assaulting  a 
woman,  and  hanged  him  to  a  convenient  tree,  riddling  his 
body  with  bullets.  The  jail  was  within  two  squares  of  the  Ex 
ecutive  Mansion,  where  the  Governor  of  the  state  was  peace 
fully  sleeping,  and  the  affair  seems  to  have  been  conducted 
with  a  strict  regard  for  all  the  proprieties  to  be  observed  on 
such  occasions. 

The  reason  given  for  this  murderous  performance  was 
simply  that  it  was  needed  as  an  object-lesson  to  the  people 
in  the  quarters  in  which  the  subject  of  the  violence  lived. 
For  this  purpose  the  dignity  of  the  state  was  outraged,  scores 
of  men  became  manslayers,  officers  of  the  law  were  over 
powered,  legal  processes  brought  into  contempt,  and  every 
possible  indignity  displayed  to  which  a  civilized  community 
could  be  subjected.  The  only  redeeming  feature  of  this 
affair  is  the  statement  afterwards  made  by  way  of  exculpa 
tion,  that  after  all  it  was  merely  a  prank  of  some  of  the 
young  men  of  the  city,  and  not  worthy  of  serious  attention. 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    199 

4.  The  year  1908  witnessed  a  remarkable  outbreak  of 
the    lynching    spirit.     The    number    of    these    disgraceful 
episodes  largely  increased  and  the  year  was  especially  marked 
by  an  unusually  serious  race  riot  at  Springfield,  Illinois. 
Here  at  the  handsome  capital  of  one  of  the  most  orderly 
and  progressive  states  in  the  Union,  almost  under  the  shadow 
of  the  homestead  of  the  illustrious  Lincoln,  on  the  I4th  day 
of  August  there  occurred  a  series  of  murders  of  negroes 
which  by  their  atrocious  character  shocked  the  civilized 
world.     As  a  beginning,  on  a  mere  accusation  of  assault,  an 
innocent  negro  was  hanged  by  a  bloodthirsty  mob  and  his 
body  riddled  with  bullets. 

Crazed  with  the  lynching  mania,  the  rioters  sought  further 
victims  and,  incited  by  liquor  and  the  lust  for  blood,  in  a 
night  transformed  the  city  to  a  very  inferno  of  murder  and 
arson.  Three  other  negroes  were  murdered  with  unspeak 
able  brutality  and  many  other  members  of  the  race  assaulted 
and  driven  from  their  homes.  Three  regiments  of  the 
state  militia  were  called  to  the  scene  to  preserve  order,  but 
days  elapsed  before  quiet  could  be  restored  and  the  negroes 
assured  of  protection.  In  addition  to  the  murders  above 
recounted,  over  forty  persons,  mostly  negroes,  were  more 
or  less  seriously  injured,  thirty  or  forty  houses  pillaged  and 
burned,  and  hundreds  of  negroes  forced  to  flee  from  the  city. 

The  work  of  this  cruel  and  conscienceless  mob  was  com 
plete,  the  negroes  terrorized,  the  state  of  Lincoln  disgraced, 
the  nation  dishonored,  but  the  world  has  yet  to  learn  that 
any  punishment  has  followed  this  outbreak  of  lawlessness. 

5.  Nor  does  the  lynching  spirit  confine  itself  to  either 
race  or  sex.     The  preceding  statistics  present  a  considerable 
proportion  of  white  victims  in  localities  where  negro  lynch 
ing  prevails.     One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  numerous 
lynching   incidents   reported   by   the   Southern   newspapers 
during  the  year  1907  occurred  in  March  of   that  year  at 


200  The  Negro  Problem 

Mars  Hill,  in  southeastern  Arkansas.  This  lawless  out 
break  resulted  in  the  brutal  murder  of  two  young  negro  girls 
for  what,  at  most,  was  evidently  a  trivial  assault  upon  a 
white  woman.  The  following  account  of  the  episode,  copied 
from  the  columns  of  the  local  newspaper,  presents  in  un 
adorned  simplicity  the  details  of  the  tragedy: 

A  FATAL  AFFRAY 

A  fatal  affray  happened  last  Saturday  at  Wire  Farm 
near  Mars  Hill  as  a  result  of  which  one  colored  girl  is  dead 
and  another  badly  if  not  fatally  wounded.  The  trouble 
arose  through  Ethel  Taylor  and  Lizzie  Taylor,  daughters  of 
Isaac  Taylor  (colored),  assaulting  one  of  Mr.  Jack  Rhoton's 
children.  Mrs.  Rhoton  interfered  for  her  children,  when 
the  Taylor  girls  assaulted  her,  cutting  her  on  the  shoulder 
with  a  knife  or  razor.  The  colored  girls  were  arrested  and 
taken  to  a  schoolhouse  near  by  that  they  could  be  guarded 
until  the  next  day  when  they  were  to  be  given  a  prelim 
inary  trial.  About  midnight,  however,  some  one  shot 
through  the  window  killing  one  of  the  girls  instantly; 
another  shot  struck  the  other  in  the  shoulder,  wound 
ing  her  as  mentioned  above.  The  dead  girl,  Lizzie 
Taylor,  was  about  seventeen  years  old,  the  other,  Ethel, 
is  fifteen. 

The  death  of  the  younger  girl  was  afterward  reported. 
But  why  continue?  Scores  of  hangings,  shootings,  burn 
ings,  floggings,  and  minor  indignities  of  every  character 
could  be  described,  and  yet  the  recital  add  but  little  to  the 
record  of  criminality  hereinbefore  set  forth.  We  have  read 
with  youthful  indignation  of  the  horrors  of  the  massacre 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  of  the  treacherous  slaughter  of  the 
wretched  Highlanders  at  Glencoe,  of  the  atrocities  perpe 
trated  during  the  Sepoy  Rebellion,  but  we  find  in  a  section 
of  our  own  country  at  the  present  day  a  record  of  murder 
ous  criminality  difficult  to  parallel  in  the  annals  of  any 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem    201 

professedly  Christian  land.      The  world  stands  aghast  at 
the  spectacle. 

The  negro  is  not  unobservant  of  the  serious  import  of  the 
lynching  question,  and  occasionally  his  unavailing  cry  is 
heard  in  bitter  protest.  Professor  Kelly  Miller,  in  his 
recent  open  letter  to  John  Temple  Graves,  entitled  "An 
Appeal  to  Reason,"  after  marshalling  the  statistics  of  South 
ern  lynchings,  says: 

What  a  blot  upon  our  citizenship  these  figures  disclose 
to  the  foreigner  who  may  still  be  sceptical  as  to  the  boast 
of  our  free  institutions!  What  will  Russia  and  Turkey 
and  Cuba  say?  How  long  will  Theodore  Roosevelt,  bent 
on  setting  the  world  to  rights,  keep  his  hands  off? 

But  no  negro  protest  and  no  negro  prayer,  neither  sub 
mission  nor  antagonism,  can  avail  against  the  lynching  spirit 
which  overrides  all  law,  mocks  the  process  of  the  courts, 
flouts  all  Christian  principles,  and  degrades  its  participants 
to  the  level  of  the  Modoc  Indian  or  the  head-hunters  of  the 
Philippine  Archipelago. 

What  then,  it  will  be  asked,  is  the  remedy  for  this  intoler 
able  evil  ?  What  may  be  done  to  banish  the  lynching  spirit, 

The  Remedy  ^rom  our  ^an<^  ?     And  *ne  answer  must  be,  under 
for  the  present  condition  of  things,  that  very  little 

ng*  can  be  done  to  accomplish  such  a  desired  result. 
While  statistics  show  a  marked  and  gratifying  decrease  in 
the  number  of  lynchings,  the  practice  itself  seems  to  be 
spreading  slowly  northward,  and  race  wars  in  the  South 
appear  to  increase  with  the  growing  spirit  of  independence 
and  self-assertion  among  the  negroes. 

Among  the  remedies  suggested  are  speedier  prosecutions 
of  crime,  the  holding  of  sheriffs  and  other  officers  chargeable 
with  the  care  of  prisoners  to  a  stricter  accountability  for 
their  safety;  and  in  some  states  the  practice  of  requiring 


202  The  Negro  Problem 

the  county  to  pay  damages  to  the  family  of  a  person  made 
the  victim  of  lynching  has  been  adopted.  But  all  are  futile 
and  unavailing  so  long  as  the  lawless  spirit  which  prompts 
these  desecrations  of  law  continues  to  prevail. 

How  can  a  sheriff  be  expected  to  defend  with  vigor  the 
life  of  an  accused  prisoner  in  his  custody,  when,  as  in  Carroll 
County,  Georgia,  the  result  of  a  successful  defence  of  the 
jail  against  the  assault  of  would-be  lynchers  is  the  loss  of 
his  office  at  the  next  election  ?  And  how  can,  in  reason,  any 
cessation  of  the  practice  be  expected  when  no  prosecution  is 
ever  set  on  foot  for  the  punishment  of  the  crime  ? 

In  his  message  to  Congress  of  1906,  President  Roosevelt 
made  the  subject  of  lynching  the  occasion  for  a  vigorous 
and  characteristic  denunciation  of  the  practice,  full  of 
earnest  discussion  and  directly  pointed  toward  the  extirpa 
tion  of  the  custom;  but  his  as  well  as  all  other  homilies 
upon  the  subject  will  be  to  little  purpose  so  long  as  the  cause 
which  provokes  the  crime  is  allowed  to  remain. 

The  negro  problem,  then,  is  inseparably  connected  with 
lynching,  and  while  that  problem  is  unsolved  the  lynching 
evil  will  likewise  continue  its  vexatious  existence.  The 
most  casual  examination  of  the  question  will  disclose  that 
the  problem  is  not  a  Northern  one,  very  few  lynchings  occur 
ring  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  those,  with  rare  excep 
tions,  in  cases  where  the  negro  is  involved.  It  is  in  its  present 
aspect  an  outgrowth  of  the  negro  problem,  and  the  solution 
of  the  one  carries  with  it  the  solution  of  the  other. 

Further,  if  this  evil  practice  is  permitted  to  continue,  not 
only  will  the  spirit  of  vengeance  be  engendered  in  the  negro 
breast, — sure  before  long  to  result  in  further  outbreaks  of 
lawlessness, — but  the  lynching  of  white  men,  already  quite 
prevalent  in  our  country,  will  increase  in  like  proportion. 
Lawlessness  of  this  character  breeds  lawlessness,  and  the 
lynching  appetite  grows  with  what  it  feeds  on. 


Lynching  an  Element  of  the  Problem     203 

Of  late  years  we  find  in  certain  sections  of  our  country 
lawless  outrages  against  property  and  person  becoming  very 
common.  The  mob  which  lynches  a  negro  charged  with 
rape  will  not  be  long  in  finding  an  excuse  for  lynching  an 
unpopular  white  man  accused  of  any  crime,  or  in  storming 
a  town  and  burning  great  manufacturing  plants,  as  was 
done  in  Princeton,  Kentucky,  December,  1907.  The  spirit 
of  lynching  knows  no  race,  no  color,  no  sex,  no  religion,  and 
has  no  respect  for  authority,  human  or  divine.  It  is  the 
recognized  reproach  of  our  land,  the  dark  stain  upon  our 
jurisprudence;  the  one  species  of  lawlessness  which  lays 
the  foundation  for  all  other  lawlessness. 

Little  wonder  that  the  civilized  world  is  in  amazement  at 
our  record,  and  that  our  eloquent  protests  against  Russian 
atrocities  or  Congo  outrages  have  but  little  weight.  Little 
wonder  that  our  eight  million  wards  in  the  Philippine  Islands 
are  sceptical  as  to  the  ulterior  purposes  of  our  beneficent 
assimilation,  when  they  see  our  own  prosperous  land  day 
by  day  stained  with  so  much  innocent  blood,  and  note  the 
astonishing  deeds  of  violence  and  outrage  which  go  wholly 
unpunished  because  the  victims  belong  to  a  helpless  and 
inferior  race. 

The  solution  of  the  lynching  problem  lies  in  the  solution 
of  the  negro  problem  on  the  lines  laid  down  by  Abraham 
Lincoln. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SOLUTION  OF  THE  NORTH 

Not  in  Hades  alone 

Doth  Sisyphus  roll,  ever  frustrate,  the  stone, 
Do  the  Danaids  ply  ever  vainly  the  sieve, 
Tasks  as  futile  does  earth  to  its  denizens  give. 

OWEN  MEREDITH — Lucile. 

OTRICTLY  speaking,  the  North  offers  no  solution  of 
*J  the  negro  problem.  Perhaps  to  the  majority  of  the 
people  of  that  section,  engrossed  in  their  personal  concerns, 
unfamiliar  with  the  history  and  gravity  of  the  question,  un- 
appreciative  of  the  importance  of  the  underlying  principles 
involved,  the  negro  problem  appears  to  be  purely  academic 
in  its  character.  The  average  man  or  woman  comes  but 
slightly  into  contact  with  the  members  of  the  race,  either 
in  the  city  or  rural  districts.  The  negro  rarely  intrudes 
himself  socially,  and  is  infrequently  found  in  sharp  business 
competition  with  his  white  neighbor.  The  ordinary  type 
of  the  professional  or  business  man,  mechanic  or  farmer,  is 
serenely  apathetic  concerning  the  negro's  existence;  much 
less  does  he  regard  his  welfare  as  being  the  subject  of  any 
special  consideration.  The  negro  is  carelessly  noted  in 
connection  with  his  usual  humble  employments.  He  is 
usually  observed  occupied  around  stables,  acting  as  janitor 
of  apartments,  serving  as  elevator  attendant  in  stores  or 
hotels,  or  perhaps  conducting  some  unpretending  business 
enterprise.  Occasionally  some  member  of  the  race  at 
tracts  particular  attention  by  attempting  to  enter  some  more 

204 


The  Solution  of  the  North  205 

ambitious  occupation,  usually  receiving  commendation  from 
all  except  those  brought  into  intimate  association  with  him. 

The  negro  women  ordinarily  are  found  employed  in 
household  service  or  as  laundresses  or  charwomen;  and  in 
general  both  sexes  perform  their  lowly  duties  without  much 
friction  and  with  very  little  assertion  of  individuality.  There 
is,  therefore,  a  reluctance  upon  the  part  of  the  unthinking 
majority  to  give  the  subject  other  than  jesting  consideration, 
or,  at  the  most,  an  inclination  to  rate  the  problem  as  a 
matter  needing  no  special  attention,  regarding  it  as  one 
which  in  the  very  nature  of  things  will  in  time  bring  about 
its  own  adjustment. 

With  the  South  the  negro  question  is  one  of  practical 
every-day  importance,  obtruding  itself  in  its  various  relations 
upon  the  attention  of  every  member  of  the  community;  in 
the  North,  on  the  contrary,  the  question  in  its  first  aspect 
has  but  little,  if  any,  practical  importance.  Whatever  dis 
cussion  it  evokes  is  confined  exclusively  to  those  whose  mental 
horizon  is  capable  of  appreciating  the  gravity  of  the  question 
and  of  comprehending  the  necessity  for  a  final  and  adequate 
solution  before  the  threatening  evils  originating  in  the 
negro's  race  inferiority,  ignorance,  and  lack  of  opportunity 
for  development  become  the  pressing  perils  of  the  next 
generation.  To  those  persons  of  the  character  first  above 
noted,  when  the  question  presents  itself  at  all,  it  is  usually 
in  connection  with  some  casual  discussion  provoked  by 
outbreaks  of  violence  in  the  South,  and  in  such  instances 
it  is  the  custom  to  dispose  of  the  subject  by  saying,  "Let 
the  South  settle  the  problem, — it  is  theirs.  Why  should  we 
concern  ourselves  with  it?  They  need  them  down  South 
to  do  the  work,  and  as  far  as  voting  is  concerned  it  does  not 
seem  to  be  a  question  of  any  great  importance.  Here  in 
the  North  we  habitually  buy  the  few  votes  the  negro  has, 
and  down  South  he  is  not  allowed  to  vote  at  all,  so  why  should 


206  The  Negro  Problem 

we  bother  about  the  matter?"  And  with  this  facile  method 
of  disposition  of  the  question,  the  average  Northerner  turns 
again  to  his  work  or  recreation,  satisfied  that  in  some  un 
defined  but  ultimately  satisfactory  way  the  negro  problem 
will  work  out  its  own  solution. 

There  are,  however,  in  the  North  many  thoughtful  and 
philanthropic  minds  to  whom  this  summary  disposition  of 
Discussion  ^e  subject  is  far  from  being  satisfactory,  and 

of  the  whose  habits  of  thought  are  not  so  ordered  that 
Problem.  ,,  ,  ,  ,,  ,  .  ,  , 

they  can  calmly  survey  the  situation  which  has 

been  depicted  in  the  foregoing  pages  without  feeling  that 
there  should  be  at  least  some  effort  made  to  bring  about  a 
remedy  for  the  admitted  and  growing  evil. 

So  from  time  to  time  we  find  the  question  discussed  in 
the  editorial  pages  of  our  Northern  newspapers,  the  dis 
cussion  usually  being  suggested  by  some  peculiar  manifes 
tation  of  the  problem  in  the  South;  while  numerous  articles 
in  magazines  are  devoted  to  consideration  of  the  acuteness 
of  the  question  or  suggestions  for  improving  the  general 
condition  of  the  negro  race. 

When  the  leaders  of  education  among  the  Southern  negroes 
come  North  upon  their  annual  quest  for  dollars  to  carry  on  the 
educational  development  of  their  people,the  platform  resounds 
with  philanthropic  suggestions  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  the  African  race,  and  with  stirring  appeals  to 
the  higher  sentiments  of  the  people  of  the  community  to  aid 
the  oppressed  in  their  strivings  for  intellectual  emancipation. 
So  that  the  North  is  not  entirely  oblivious  of  the  problem, 
but  with  varying  intelligence  and  always  in  a  spirit  of  altru 
ism  our  clergymen,  editors,  authors,  philanthropists,  states 
men,  and  progressive  women  have  advanced  from  time  to 
time  suggestions  intended  to  lead  to  the  solution  of  the 
problem.  Let  us  follow  our  practice  in  the  ascertainment 
of  Southern  opinion,  and  again  summon  to  the  witness 


The  Solution  of  the  North  207 

stand  some  of  those  best  entitled  to  hearing,  who  have  in 
public  given  expression  to  their  views. 

There  is  certainly  no  one  in  our  country  more  qualified 
by  natural  gifts,  historical  knowledge,  and  intimate  contact 
with  the  practical  side  of  the  problem,  than  the  Honorable 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  President  of  the  United  States.  In 
the  autumn  of  the  year  1905,  President  Roosevelt  made  an 
extended  tour  through  the  Southern  States,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  visited  the  Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial 
Institute  at  Tuskegee,  Alabama.  This  institution,  under 
the  wise  and  energetic  management  of  President  Booker 
T.  Washington,  stands  in  the  forefront  of  all  negro  insti 
tutions  as  the  most  striking  example  of  the  success  of  the 
theory  of  joining  with  industrial  education  the  teaching  of 
those  scientific  and  classical  subjects  so  necessary  in  the 
development  of  the  intellectual  life. 

On  October  24,  1905,  President  Roosevelt  paid  this  visit 
to  Tuskegee.  Although  he  had  been  the  guest  of  the  public 
Roosevelt  officials  of  the  state  on  the  preceding  day,  he 
at  Tuskegee.  was  unaccompanied  on  his  visit  to  the  institution 
by  any  white  person  of  local  standing  or  official  character. 
Crowds  of  the  country  people,  black  and  white,  who  had 
learned  of  his  coming,  had  congregated  in  Tuskegee. 

After  the  President  had  been  received  by  President  Wash 
ington  and  the  officials  connected  with  the  Institute,  he 
was  taken  in  a  carriage  manufactured  by  the  students,  drawn 
by  horses  used  upon  the  Institute  farm,  and,  surrounded 
by  students,  was  escorted  to  the  reviewing  stand  which  had 
been  erected  in  his  honor.  There,  encircled  by  negroes,  he 
witnessed  the  parade  of  the  teachers  and  students,  the  result 
of  elaborate  preparations  which  had  been  made  by  those 
connected  with  the  institution.  We  are  told  that  nearly 
fifteen  hundred  young  negro  men  and  women,  arrayed  in 
the  uniform  of  the  institution, — consisting  of  blue  suits  with 


208  The  Negro  Problem 

brass  buttons,  white  gloves,  and  cadet  caps  on  the  part  of  the 
men,  and  on  the  part  of  the  young  women  of  blue  dresses 
trimmed  with  red  braid,  and  blue  straw  braid  hats  with 
ornamental  ribbons, — marched  to  the  music  of  the  Institute 
band  in  front  of  the  reviewing  stand. 

Following  this  display,  we  are  informed  by  the  newspapers 
that  various  floats  representing  the  work  of  the  students  in 
the  different  departments  passed  by,  greatly  impressing 
the  Chief  Executive  with  the  important  character  of  the 
training  conferred  by  the  institution  upon  those  receiving 
its  benefits. 

The  situation  was  inspiring,  the  hour  was  timely,  the 
negro  was  at  his  best,  and  President  Roosevelt  took  occasion 
to  present  to  the  students  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Institute 
an  address  which  may  be  deemed  to  contain  his  carefully 
expressed  views  upon  the  solution  of  the  negro  problem. 
The  liberty  is  taken  of  quoting  the  essential  points  of  this 
address,  as  better  than  any  other  statement  known  to  the 
writer  it  embodies  what  may  be  considered  as  the  Northern 
solution  of  the  problem: 

To  the  white  population  as  well  as  to  the  black  it  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  negro  be  encouraged 
to  make  himself  a  citizen  of  the  highest  type  of  usefulness. 
It  is  to  the  interest  of  the  white  people  that  this  policy  be 
conscientiously  pursued,  and  to  the  interest  of  the  colored 
people  that  they  clearly  realize  that  they  have  opportu 
nities  for  economic  development  here  in  the  South  not  now 
offered  elsewhere.  Within  the  last  twenty  years  the  in 
dustrial  operations  of  the  South  have  increased  so  tremen 
dously  that  there  is  a  scarcity  of  labor  almost  everywhere, 
so  that  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  for  all  who  wish  the  pros 
perity  of  the  South  to  help  the  negro  to  become  in  the 
highest  degree  useful  to  himself,  and  therefore  to  the  com 
munity  in  which  he  lives.  The  South  has  always  depended 


The  Solution  of  the  North  209 

and  now  depends  chiefly  upon  her  native  population  for 
her  work.  Therefore,  in  view  of  the  scarcity  not  only  of 
common  labor  but  of  skilled  labor,  it  becomes  doubly 
important  to  train  every  available  man  to  be  of  the  ut 
most  use,  by  developing  his  intelligence,  his  skill  and  his 
capacity  for  conscientious  effort. 

There  are  other  and  higher  reasons  that  entitle  the  negro 
race  to  our  support.  In  the  interest  of  humanity,  of  justice 
and  of  self -protection,  every  white  man  in  America,  no 
matter  where  he  lives,  should  try  to  help  the  negro  to  help 
himself.  It  is  in  the  interest  and  for  the  protection  of  the 
white  man  to  see  that  the  negro  is  educated.  It  is  not 
only  the  duty  of  the  white  man  but  it  is  his  interest  to  see 
that  the  negro  is  protected  in  property,  in  life  and  in  all 
his  legal  rights.  Every  time  a  law  is  broken  every  in 
dividual  in  the  community  has  the  moral  tone  of  his  life 
lowered.  Lawlessness  in  the  United  States  is  not  confined 
to  any  one  section;  lynching  is  not  confined  to  any  one 
section,  and  there  is  perhaps  no  body  of  American  citizens 
who  have  deserved  so  well  of  the  entire  American  people 
as  the  public  men,  the  publicists,  the  clergymen,  the  count 
less  thousands  of  high-minded  private  citizens,  who  have 
done  such  heroic  work  in  the  South  in  arousing  public 
opinion  against  lawlessness  in  all  its  forms,  and  especially 
against  lynching.  I  very  earnestly  hope  that  their  example 
will  count  in  the  North  as  well  as  in  the  South,  for  there  are 
just  as  great  evils  to  be  warred  against  in  one  region  of  our 
country  as  in  another,  though  they  are  not  in  all  places 
the  same  evils.  And  when  any  body  of  men  in  any  com 
munity  stands  bravely  for  what  is  right  these  men  not 
merely  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  doing  the  particular  task 
to  which  they  set  themselves,  but  give  a  lift  to  the  cause  of 
good  citizenship  throughout  the  Union. 

And  right  here  let  me  say  that  if  in  any  community  a 
misunderstanding  between  the  races  arises  over  any  matter, 
infinitely  the  best  way  out  is  to  have  a  prompt,  frank  and 


2io  The  Negro  Problem 

full  conference  and  consultation  between  representatives 
of  the  wise,  decent,  cool-headed  men  among  the  whites 
and  the  wise,  decent,  cool-headed  colored  men.  Such  a 
conference  will  always  tend  to  bring  about  a  better  under 
standing  and  will  be  a  great  help  all  round. 

Hitherto  I  have  spoken  chiefly  of  the  obligations  existing 
on  the  part  of  the  white  man.  Now  let  you  remember  on  the 
other  hand  that  no  help  can  permanently  avail  you  save  as 
you  yourselves  develop  capacity  for  self-help.  You  young 
colored  men  and  women  educated  at  Tuskegee  must  by  pre 
cept  and  example  lead  your  fellows  toward  sober,  industrious, 
law-abiding  lives.  You  are  in  honor  bound  to  join  hands 
in  favor  of  law  and  order  and  to  war  against  all  crime,  and 
especially  against  all  crime  by  men  of  your  own  race:  for 
the  heaviest  wrong  done  by  the  criminal  is  the  wrong  to  his 
own  race.  You  must  teach  the  people  of  your  race  that 
they  must  scrupulously  observe  any  contract  into  which 
they  in  good  faith  enter,  no  matter  whether  it  is  hard  to 
keep  or  not.  If  you  save  money,  secure  homes,  become 
taxpayers  and  lead  clean,  decent,  modest  lives  you  will 
win  the  respect  of  your  neighbors  of  both  races.  Let  each 
man  strive  to  excel  his  fellows  only  by  rendering  substantial 
service  to  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  The  colored 
people  have  many  difficulties  to  pass  through,  but  these 
difficulties  will  be  surmounted  if  only  the  policy  of  reason 
and  common-sense  is  pursued.  You  have  made  real  and 
great  progress.  According  to  the  census  the  colored  people 
of  this  country  own  and  'pay  taxes  upon  something  like 
$300,000,000  worth  of  property  and  have  blotted  out  over 
50  per  cent,  of  their  illiteracy.  What  you  have  done  in 
the  past  is  an  indication  of  what  you  will  be  able  to  accom 
plish  in  the  future  under  wise  leadership.  Moral  and  in 
dustrial  education  is  what  is  most  needed  in  order  that  this 
progress  may  continue.  The  race  cannot  expect  to  get 
everything  at  once.  It  must  learn  to  wait  and  bide  its 
time;  to  prove  itself  worthy  by  showing  its  possession  of 
perseverance,  of  thrift,  of  self-control.  The  destiny  of  the 


The  Solution  of  the  North 


211 


race  is  chiefly  in  its  own  hands  and  must  be  worked  out 
patiently  and  persistently  along  these  lines.  Remember 
also  that  the  white  man  who  can  be  of  most  use  to  the 
colored  man  is  that  colored  man's  neighbor. 

It  is  the  Southern  people  themselves  who  must  and  can 
solve  the  difficulties  that  exist  in  the  South ;  of  course,  what 
help  the  people  of  the  rest  of  the  Union  can  give  them  must 
and  will  be  gladly  and  cheerfully  given.  The  hope  of  ad 
vancement  for  the  colored  man  in  the  South  lies  in  his 
steady,  common-sense  effort  to  improve  his  moral  and 
material  condition,  and  to  work  in  harmony  with  the  white 
man  in  upbuilding  the  commonwealth.  The  future  of  the 
South  now  depends  upon  the  people  of  both  races  living 
up  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  laws  of  their  several  States 
and  working  out  the  destinies  of  both  races,  not  as  races, 
but  as  law-abiding  American  citizens. 

In  reading  this  discussion,  by  the  President,  of  this  mo 
mentous  question,  with  all  respect  to  the  high  authority  of 
his  office,  to  his  scholarship,  to  his  broad  sympathy  with 
humanity  and  evident  desire  to  accomplish  something  toward 
the  elevation  of  the  negro  race,  it  must  be  frankly  said  that 
these  commonplace  utterances  add  nothing  of  assistance  to 
those  who  are  seeking  the  solution  of  the  problem.  To 
counsel  in  general  terms  the  blacks  and  whites  to  confer  to 
gether;  to  commend  honesty  and  thrift  and  to  denounce 
crime;  to  call  attention  to  the  obvious  fact  that  in  the  propor 
tion  that  members  of  both  races  are  actuated  by  honesty, 
decency,  and  fairness  their  relations  will  be  more  amicable 
and  satisfactory,  is  to  ignore  the  graver  aspects  of  the  present 
situation,  and  to  leave  the  question  at  the  end  as  unsettled 
as  before  the  advice  was  delivered. 

And  common  is  the  commonplace, 
And  vacant  chaff  well  meant  for  grain. 

As  President  Roosevelt  saw  pass  in  review  the  banners  of 


212  The  Negro  Problem 

that  hopeful  procession  of  fifteen  hundred  ambitious  negro 
youth  of  the  South,  and  noted,  as  he  must  have  done,  the 
buoyant  spirit  which  animated  them  on  that  occasion,  it 
must  have  been  to  him  a  bitter  reflection  as  he  keenly  realized 
how  circumscribed  must  be  their  field  of  after  usefulness, 
what  bitter  discipline  awaited  them  when  upon  graduation 
they  would  find  themselves  ushered  into  a  hostile  community, 
even  that  day  manifesting  by  the  absence  of  its  official  rep 
resentatives  the  indifference  with  which  the  efforts  of  the 
negro  to  obtain  education  are  met  in  the  South. 

For  the  colored  boys  in  that  parade, — no  vote,  no  position 
of  influence  in  public  affairs,  no  social  standing,  no  represen 
tation  in  the  jury  box,  no  hope  of  participation  in  any  of  the 
great  currents  of  thought  and  action  flowing  about  them  in  the 
community.  For  the  young  women  in  that  parade, — social 
ostracism,  relegation  to  Jim  Crow  cars,  inferior  conditions 
and  accommodations  everywhere,  exclusion  from  hotels, 
theatres,  and  other  public  places,  and  a  confirmed  attitude 
of  disbelief  in  the  community  as  to  their  desire  or  ability  to 
lead  lives  of  virtue  and  true  womanhood. 

The  President's  views  of  the  race  problem  fairly  typify 
what  may  be  regarded  in  a  general  way  as  the  vague  Northern 
view  of  the  measures  necessary  to  the  settlement  of  the 
question.  The  preponderating  element  of  the  thoughtful 
men  in  the  North  who  have  given  it  consideration  appears 
to  rely  upon  the  effect  of  education,  industrial  and  scholastic, 
to  bring  about  an  amelioration  of  the  situation.  A  few 
more  expressions  of  views  of  prominent  individuals  will 
make  this  manifest. 

Dr.  Felix  Adler,  the  President  of  the  Society  for  Ethical 
Culture  in  New  York,  has  for  years  given  profound  study  to 
Other  *he  question.  In  an  address  before  the  Society  at 

Northern  Carnegie  Hall,  January  10,  1004,  he  announced 
Expressions.  ,  .  .  .  .  .  f  , 

the  one  great  hopeful  remedy  to  be  that  of  edu- 


The  Solution  of  the  North  213 

cation.  Vaguely  he  outlined  his  solution  as  that  of  treating 
the  negro  as  an  equal,  and  extending  to  him  such  material 
assistance  in  the  way  of  education  as  may  be  essential  to 
his  improvement.  Speaking  of  the  negro  he  says: 

A  man  is  a  man,  and  if  he  does  n't  come  up  to  your  stand 
ard  the  very  best  way  of  helping  him  to  come  up  to  it  is 
to  impute  to  him  the  responsibility  of  a  man.  Treat  him 
as  if  he  were  a  man ;  expect  him  to  come  up  to  the  conduct 
of  a  man.  And  so  while  undue  severity  is  wrong,  undue 
leniency,  too,  is  wrong.  Excessive  severity  has  for  its 
effect  the  eliciting  of  vindictiveness  and  the  creating  of  a 
solidarity  of  the  whole  race  with  its  weakest  members.  It 
thus  distorts  the  moral  value,  while  undue  leniency  relaxes 
the  moral  fibre  and  creates  a  condition  of  mind  in  which 
moral  values  cannot  even  exist.  So  with  education  must 
go  the  equitable  administration  of  justice.  We  do  not  yet 
dare  to  face  our  problem.  We  are  constantly  blinking  it. 

In  recent  addresses,  Dr.  Adler  shows  a  less  hopeful  frame 
of  mind,  observing,  in  discussion  of  the  question  of  negro 
social  equality  and  the  intermarriage  of  the  races,  that  segre 
gation  is  now  absolutely  imperative;  and  again  recurring  to 
the  idea  that  negro  education  will  prove  the  necessary  panacea. 

The  Reverend  Washington  Gladden,  clergyman,  social 
student,  and  essayist,  in  his  thoughtful  paper  on  the  problem 
in  the  American  Magazine,  January,  1904,  after  suggesting 
the  possibility  of  a  race  conflict  resulting  from  the  present 
policy  of  the  South  to  keep  the  negro  in  subjection,  makes 
this  suggestion: 

What  would  be  the  issue  of  such  a  struggle?  I  have 
tried  to  think  my  way  through  this  difficult  problem,  and 
I  can  see  no  other  outcome  of  a  strife  of  this  nature  than 
the  segregation  of  the  races.  The  nation  would  be  compelled 
to  intervene,  and  force  the  combatants  asunder.  After 


214  The  Negro  Problem 

such  a  strife,  undertaken  for  such  a  purpose,  it  would  be 
impossible  for  the  races  to  live  together:  a  portion  of  the 
Southern  domain  would  have  to  be  set  apart  for  the  blacks ; 
we  should  have,  probably,  three  or  four  states  of  which 
the  population  would  be  wholly  composed  of  negroes, 
governing  themselves,  and  represented  in  the  Congress  at 
Washington.  The  whites  would  be  compelled  to  content 
themselves  with  such  a  portion  of  their  territory  as  could 
be  left  to  them;  but  they  would  be  delivered  from  that 
terrible  trouble  and  fear  which  now  oppresses  them,  and 
could  develop  their  civilization  along  their  own  lines. 

But  in  the  end,  after  impressively  pointing  out  that  the 
treatment  of  the  negro  in  the  North  is  in  many  respects 
quite  as  harsh  as  in  the  South,  he  closes  with  the  following 
indefinite  proposition: 

Nevertheless,  the  problem  at  the  South,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  is  a  national  problem,  and  we  must  not  with 
hold  our  hands  from  doing  what  we  can  to  help  in  its  right 
solution  there.  With  those  true  and  brave  witnesses  whose 
voices  we  have  heard,  and  with  all  who  stand  with  them 
for  the  opportunity  of  the  negro  to  be  a  man,  we  join  our 
selves  in  an  earnest  endeavor  to  open  to  him  the  gates  of 
opportunity  and  to  lift  up  before  him  the  ideals  of  Christian 
civilization. 

Somewhat  on  a  different  line,  and  much  more  practical, 
do  we  find  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Robert  B.  Bean,  of  Ann 
Arbor,  in  his  essay  on  "The  Training  of  the  Negro"  in 
the  Century  Magazine  of  October,  1906: 

Taking  a  dip  into  the  future,  one  sees  the  gradual  forcing 
of  the  true  negro,  by  competition,  into  the  most  degraded 
and  least  remunerative  occupations.  The  large  cities, 
with  their  inevitable  blight  of  squalor  and  disease,  will 
destroy  great  multitudes.  Pitiless  competition,  merciless 


The  Solution  of  the  North  215 

corporations,  disease,  and  other  afflictions  will  cause  a 
constantly  decreasing  negro  population.  Continual  youth 
ful  aberrations  and  intermarriage  will  keep  the  ranks  of 
the  mulattoes  recruited  until  they  form  a  very  considerable 
proportion  of  the  colored  people.  The  cross-breed  negro 
will  probably  find  a  place  in  the  economy  of  commercial 
life  in  the  future.  An  ever  increasing  proportion  of  them 
are  learning  agriculture  and  the  trades.  A  great  many  are 
becoming  doctors,  lawyers,  and  teachers  among  their  own 
people.  The  negro  business  man  is  yearly  increasing  in 
numbers.  Natural  traders,  they  take  to  business  like  a 
horse  to  grass.  The  number  of  negro  landowners  is  rapidly 
increasing. 

But,  after  all,  the  familiar  suggestion  for  the  betterment 
of  the  negro  and  for  the  final  solution  of  the  problem 
Education  of  urged  by  Northern  theorists  and  doctrinaires, 
the  Negro.  ;s  ^  of  education.  And  to  this  end  the 
practical  efforts  of  those  interested  in  the  cause  of  the 
negro  have  been  largely  directed.  The  General  Education 
Board  and  the  Southern  Education  Board,  volunteer  asso 
ciations  now  having  to  some  extent  the  sanction  of  the 
National  Government  in  their  operations,  have  for  years  paid 
special  attention  to  the  subject  of  negro  education  in  the 
South.  Not  exclusively  to  negro  education  have  their  efforts 
been  directed,  but  in  the  main  such  has  been  the  purpose 
and  practical  direction  of  the  work  of  the  organizations. 

Mr.  Robert  C.  Ogden,  of  the  Southern  Education  Board, 
has  been  especially  active  in  this  work,  and  annually  with  a 
party  of  eminent  educational  leaders  of  the  North  visits 
the  South  in  the  interest  of  negro  education.  With  high 
motives,  philanthropic  spirit,  and  broad  charity,  for  years 
he  has  been  enthusiastic  and  prominent  in  this  field  of  labor. 
As  President  of  the  Board  of  Hampton  Trustees,  he  pre 
sided  in  the  winter  of  1907  at  a  meeting  in  behalf  of  Hampton 


216  The  Negro  Problem 

Institute  in  New  York,  and  as  the  principal  speaker  on  that 
occasion  declared  that  the  race  problem  in  this  country  had 
reached  such  a  stage  that  it  could  no  longer  be  ignored. 
He  continued  in  this  strain: 

But  I  am  not  a  pessimist;  this  problem  will  be  solved 
and  it  will  be  solved  by  the  good  men  of  the  South. 

We  must,  however,  do  our  whole  duty  by  the  negro. 
Think  of  what  will  happen  to  our  children  and  our  children's 
children  if  we  do  not. 

Certainly  a  remarkably  lucid  explanation  of  the  gravity 
of  the  situation,  and  a  peculiarly  optimistic  view  of  the 
probable  outcome. 

The  late  Grover  Cleveland,  ex-President  of  the  United 
States,  being  called  upon  to  give  his  views  on  the  solution 

of  the  problem,  directed  a  letter  to  the  meeting  of 
Cleveland       ,       A  A          .  ..        ,    ,  ,   r       ^ 

on  the          the  Armstrong  Association  held  for  the  purpose 


°^  discussing  the  question  of  educating  and  ele 
vating  the  Southern  negro,  at  the  Concert  Hall 
of  the  Madison  Square  Garden  in  New  York  last  year,  in 
which  he  expounded  the  following  clarifying  sentiments: 

All  our  people  and  every  section  of  our  country  are  deeply 
concerned  in  the  better  equipment  of  our  negro  population 
for  self-support  and  usefulness.  There  should  be  a  gen 
eral  agreement  as  to  the  necessity  of  their  improvement 
in  this  direction;  and  all  good  men  should  contribute  in  the 
manner  best  suited  to  their  several  circumstances  to  the 
accomplishment  of  this  beneficent  result. 

Different  sections  of  our  country  are  affected  in  different 
civ?grees,  and  with  greater  or  less  directness;  but  it  seems 
to  me  all  must  concede  that  no  agencies  can  possibly  do 
better  service  in  the  cause  of  negro  amelioration  than  the 
institutions  in  which  they  are  taught  how  to  be  self-sup 
porting  and  self-respecting. 


The  Solution  of  the  North  217 

Yet  Mr.  Cleveland  was  familiar  with  the  problem  and 
had  given  it  deep  consideration.  A  writer  in  the  American 
Magazine  (September,  1908)  quotes  him  as  follows: 

A  long  time  ago,  when  people  were  not  thinking  or 
talking  about  the  "negro  problem,"  supposing  it  to  be 
comfortably  settled,  I  asked  him  what  he  thought  was  the 
greatest  question  before  the  country. 

"Oh,  there  is  only  one,"  he  said.  "We  can  see  our 
way  through  most  of  our  difficulties.  We  can  at  least 
imagine  a  solution  of  all  problems  but  one.  But  the 
negro  question  baffles  everybody's  understanding.  No 
one  knows  what  the  answer  is.  No  one  knows  when  it 
will  demand  an  instant  answer.  We  can't  take  away  the 
franchise  from  the  negroes.  No  matter  how  foolish  it 
was  to  give  them  a  vote,  we  can't  turn  back.  At  the  same 
time  we  can't  let  them  gain  political  supremacy  in  the 
South.  It  will  take  centuries  to  educate  them.  I  don't 
know  what  to  think  about  it.  It  will  be  a  burden  on  our 
children  and  our  children's  children." 

At  the  same  meeting,  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie,  who  has  by 
his  generous  philanthropy  earned  the  right  to  advance  his 
views  on  -the  subject,  thus  states  the  solution  of  the  negro 
problem: 

We  have  destroyed  one  bad  system,  but  constructive 
work  is  needed ;  the  shackles  may  be  off,  but  the  slave  of 
yesterday  cannot  rise  to  the  height  of  full  citizenship  next 
day.  Resolutions  and  party  platforms,  eloquent  harangues 
upon  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity,  promote  no  healthy 
growth,  produce  no  good  fruit;  even  legislation  cannot  rid 
the  state  of  the  malady, — the  cure  is  not  political  but 
social. 

Mr.  Carnegie  added  that  the  improvement  of  the  South, 
both  white  and  black,  must  be  accomplished  by  the  best 


218  The  Negro  Problem 

educated  white  element  in  the  South,  which  is  in  sympathy 
with  the  views  of  the  Northerner. 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Gardner,  one  of  the  Regents  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  the  State  of  New  York,  delivered  an  elaborate 
address  before  the  University  on  June  29,  1903,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  propounded  a  constitutional  and  educational 
solution  of  the  negro  problem.  No  one  can  read  this  learned, 
eloquent,  and  forceful  essay  without  perceiving  that  Mr. 
Gardner  has  indeed  a  thorough  realization  of  the  supreme 
gravity  of  the  situation.  With  masterly  ability  he  propounds 
his  theory  that  through  education,  and  education  alone,  the 
salvation  of  the  Southern  negro  may  be  brought  about.  He 
finds  in  the  constitutional  provisions  for  regulating  citizen 
ship  the  necessity  for  an  adequate  electorate,  and  on  the 
strength  of  this  necessity  vehemently  pleads  for  national 
aid  to  the  Southern  black  for  the  purpose  of  advancing  him 
to  a  full  capacity  for  intelligent  exercise  of  the  voting  privilege. 

President-elect  Taft  finds  the  solution  of  the  race  question 
in  industrial  and  thorough  education  which  in  time  will 
make  the  negro  eligible  to  exercise  the  electoral  franchise. 
He  assures  the  South  that  he  is  in  sympathy  with  its  efforts 
to  prevent  the  domination  of  an  ignorant  and  unprincipled 
electorate,  and  appears  to  consider  that  the  problem  will 
be  solved  when  by  thrift,  education,  and  political  progress 
the  negro  may  acquire  ability  to  participate  in  political  affairs. 

Hundreds  of  other  similar  quotations  might  be  presented 
which,  considered  with  those  already  cited,  would  suffice  to 
indicate  that  the  solution  of  the  North,  so  far  as  it  may  be 
taking  definite  shape,  is  essentially  based  upon  the  theory 
that  through  education, — moral,  intellectual,  and  indus 
trial, — through  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  by  industry 
and  by  the  exhibition  of  traits  of  thrift  and  ability,  through 
the  acquirement  of  a  more  prosperous  station  in  life,  the 
negro,  with  Northern  aid,  will  eventually  so  elevate  himself 


The  Solution  of  the  North  219 

as  to  compel  the  recognition  of  his  political  rights  and  social 
worth  by  the  whites  of  the  South,  and  thus  establish  himself 
as  a  valuable  citizen.  The  hope  is  cherished  that  this  will 
be  effected  by  educational  work  in  the  South,  assisted  by 
voluntary  contributions  from  Northern  sources,  and,  if  need 
be,  by  liberal  subsidies  from  the  national  government. 

Now,  the  fallacy  of  this  view  lies  in  the  assumption  that 

the  higher  the  state  of  education  and  ability  the  negro  can 

attain,  the  more  wealth  he  can  accumulate  and 

the  Ar^gu-    the  greater  his  prosperity,  the  more  he  will  be 

ment  for  liked  and  appreciated  by  the  white  race  in  the 
Education.  * 

South. 

The  contrary  is  always  the  case.  The  Southern  negro 
who  performs  humble  duties,  who  is  content  with  menial 
occupation,  who  bears  himself  meekly,  asks  for  no  social 
equality,  but  stands  in  the  attitude  of  hat  in  hand,  is  not 
ordinarily  the  subject  of  aggressive  racial  animosity.  It 
is  the  negro  who  asserts  his  constitutional  rights,  who  en 
deavors  to  raise  himself  to  the  level,  social  or  political,  of  the 
white  man,  who  meets  with  the  sternest  opposition.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  cite  illustrations  of  this  patent  fact.  A 
careful  reading  of  the  newspapers  will  bring  many  to  the 
reader's  attention,  and  the  argument  could,  if  necessary, 
be  re-enforced  by  the  quotation  of  pages  from  DuBois, 
Kelly  Miller,  and  other  negroes  familiar  with  this  fact. 

Race  conflicts  in  the  South  usually  have  their  origin  in  the 
effort  of  some  negro  or  negroes  to  assert  what  are  deemed 
to  be  rights,  and  usually  cease  "when  the  ringleader  is 
disposed  of."  The  theory  that  wealth  will  allay  racial 
antipathies,  that  education  will  elevate  the  negro  in  the  social 
world,  that  prosperity  will  bring  about  kindlier  feelings 
between  him  and  the  whites,  has  been  exploded  in  hundreds 
of  instances.  The  natural  conclusion  of  this  consideration 
of  the  educational  theory  is,  that  the  prosperity  or  promi- 


220  The  Negro  Problem 

nence  of  any  particular  negro  in  a  Southern  community,  unless 
accompanied  by  a  submissive  disposition,  makes  him,  c&teris 
paribus,  more  peculiarly  the  mark  of  race  antipathy  when 
the  interest  of  the  white  race  is  in  any  way  jeopardized  by 
his  ability. 

Something  more  remains  to  be  said  upon  this  subject. 

There  is  danger  in  the  theory  of  solution  by  education.     It 

soon  finds  itself  in  sharp  conflict  with  the  plan 

of  etheE        which  I  have  designated  as  the  solution  of  the 

Northern  South.  Were  the  country  of  one  mind  as  to  the 
Solution.  J 

methods  to  be  employed  to  effect  the  settlement 

of  the  question,  even  then  the  successful  outcome  of  the 
educational  theory  would  be  sufficiently  doubtful ;  but  in 
the  present  condition  of  Southern  sentiment  the  continued 
attempt  to  solve  the  problem  on  these  lines  is  likely  to  be 
fraught  with  most  disastrous  consequences.  One  cannot 
read  the  Southern  newspapers  or  listen  to  the  speeches  of 
prominent  men  of  that  section,  without  noting  the  growing 
spirit  of  hostility  displayed  toward  the  efforts  of  the  North 
to  fashion  and  control  the  educational  progress  of  the  black 
man. 

Governor  Vardaman,  of  Mississippi,  denounces  the  ideas 
of  equality  which  the  negro  receives  from  the  North,  and 
insists  that  all  negro  education  shall  be  of  an  industrial 
character;  ex-Governor  Jelks,  of  Alabama,  demands  that  all 
teaching  of  negroes  shall  be  conducted  by  Southern  white 
men,  because  his  observation  convinces  him  that,  by  reason 
of  lack  of  understanding  of  the  negro  character,  Northern 
and  Eastern  white  men  and  women  are  mischief-makers 
when  intrusted  with  this  work. 

The  simple  statement  of  President  Schurman,  of  Cornell 
University,  that  the  millions  given  by  Rockefeller  for  national 
education  if  devoted  to  the  civilization  of  the  South  would 
be  far  from  tainted  money,  calls  forth  from  one  of  Georgia's 


The  Solution  of  the  North  221 

foremost  statesmen  an  outburst  of  vituperation  worthy  of 
ante-bellum  times.  He  says,  after  exalting  the  higher 
standard  of  Southern  society  and  institutions: 

Sometimes  the  insolent  ignorance  of  these  arrogant  and 
ill-mannered  accidents  in  and  out  of  the  Northern  educa 
tional  circles  makes  us  angry,  but  in  this  instance  it  but 
moves  us  to  mirth  and  laughter. 

Early  in  the  year  1907,  Miss  Anna  T.  Jeanes,  of  Phila 
delphia,  established  a  trust  fund  of  $1,000,000  for  the  better- 

The  Jeanes  ment  °^  tne  negroes  of  the  South.  The  income 
Trust  and  of  this  liberal  gift  is  to  be  devoted  to  the  sole 
purpose  of  assisting,  in  the  "Southern  United 
States,  community,  country,  and  rural  schools  for  the  great 
class  of  negroes  to  whom  the  small  rural  and  community 
schools  are  alone  available." 

Under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  New  York  a  corporation 
has  been  organized  to  administer  the  trust,  with  its  principal 
office  in  New  York  City.  The  Board  of  Directors  and 
Trustees,  of  some  twenty-one  members,  is  largely  composed 
of  Northern  men  prominent  in  educational  and  philan 
thropic  work,  and  embraces  five  well-known  members  of 
the  negro  race.  The  announced  purpose  of  the  trustees,  in 
their  management  of  the  income  of  the  fund,  is  to  supplement 
the  resources  of  the  Southern  States  in  carrying  on  the  work 
of  rudimentary  education.  It  is  hoped  by  the  advocates 
of  this  plan  that  the  schools  established  and  supported  by 
the  beneficence  of  Miss  Jeanes  will  serve  as  object-lessons 
to  the  South  as  to  methods  and  character  of  negro  education. 

To  any  one  familiar  with  Southern  views  upon  the  subject 
of  the  education  of  the  negro,  the  difficulties  confronting 
these  trustees  appear  very  formidable.  In  the  first  place 
no  Southern  white  man  of  social  standing,  no  public  official 
or  leader  of  thought  can  afford  to  jeopardize  his  standing 


222  The  Negro  Problem 

among  his  people  by  in  any  degree  associating  himself  with 
negro  men  upon  a  board  of  this  character.  To  sit  in  con 
ference  with  members  of  the  African  race,  on  terms  of 
equality,  is  a  thing  not  for  a  moment  to  be  contemplated. 

Further,  upon  the  well  established  principle  that  in  every 
character  of  enterprise  those  controlling  the  financial  re 
sources  are  in  a  position  to  dictate  the  conditions  under 
which  the  funds  are  to  be  expended,  it  is  clear  that  the 
Northern  theorists  with  their  negro  coadjutors  can  never 
hope  to  agree  with  the  local  authorities  in  Southern  com 
munities  as  to  the  methods  to  be  employed  or  the  ends  to 
which  the  interest  of  the  fund  is  to  be  applied.  The  radi 
cally  differing  views  of  what  constitutes  the  proper  edu 
cation  of  the  negro  will  prevent  any  successful  co-operation. 

The  derisive  comments  of  the  Southern  press  upon  the 
project  should  enlighten  those  entrusted  with  its  execution. 
The  Charleston  News  and  Courier,  a  typical  newspaper  of 
the  section,  in  its  issue  of  April  27,  1907,  suggests  the  better 
plan  to  be  "to  take  the  negroes  North  and  educate  them 
there,"  where  the  advocates  of  the  plan  will  be  able  to  enjoy 
the  refining  influences  springing  from  close  association  with 
them.  After  reviewing  the  industrial  situation,  North 
and  South,  as  it  affects  the  negro,  and  pointing  out  that  in 
respect  to  securing  employment  the  negro  coming  North 
finds  a  Chinese  wall  at  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  the  article 
concludes : 

Let  the  North  give  the  negro  the  same  "square  deal" 
that  it  gives  the  white  man  and  it  will  accomplish  more 
in  a  day  for  his  elevation  than  the  endowment  of  schools 
in  the  South  will  accomplish  in  years. 

Against  this  spirit,  which,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  dominates  the  South,  the  $50,000  income  of  the 
Jeanes  fund  will  have  about  as  much  effect  as  the  circulation 


The  Solution  of  the  North  223 

of  an  anti-slavery  pamphlet  had  in  Mississippi  in  the  years 
preceding  the  Civil  War. 

The  Southerner,  glorying  in  his  history  and  proud  of  his 
civilization,  considers  himself  no  subject  for  charity,  edu 
cational  or  otherwise,  and  resents  the  imputation  that  his 
theory  of  negro  education  is  not  the  correct  one.  While 
willing  to  receive  assistance  for  educational  purposes,  he 
will  accept  it  only  upon  terms  involving  no  sacrifice  of  his 
self-respect,  and  demands  in  this  case  that  he  shall  determine 
the  character  of  the  tuition  of  which  the  negro  is  to  be  the 
recipient.  He  extends  but  a  frosty  welcome  to  the  band 
of  educational  pilgrims,  who,  under  the  title  of  the  Southern 
Education  Conference,  annually  invade  his  cities  to  render 
him  unrequested  assistance  and  to  instruct  him  in  his  man 
agement  of  the  colored  population. 

So  long  as  it  remains  one  of  the  infirmities  of  our  human 
nature  to  dislike  to  accept  advice  from  those  whom  we 
regard  as  less  informed  upon  a  subject  than  ourselves,  the 
Northern  idea  of  negro  education  will  make  but  slight  pro 
gress  on  Southern  soil. 

The  same  newspaper  issues  that  contained  the.  announce 
ment  of  Rockefeller's  unparalleled  gift  of  $32,000,000  to  the 
National  Education  Conference  for  educational  purposes, 
informed  us  of  the  progress  of  the  hostile  investigation  of 
Tuskegee  Institute  by  the  Legislature  of  Alabama,  which 
prevented  President  Booker  T.  Washington  from  making 
his  usual  Northern  trip  seeking  contributions  in  the  winter 
of  1907.  Should  other  like  liberal  contributions  to  this 
fund  follow,  and  an  attempt  on  a  large  scale  be  made  to  ex 
tend  the  work  of  this  doubtless  well  intentioned  but  unofficial 
and  irresponsible  body  in  the  late  slaveholding  states,  a 
recrudescence  of  sectional  antagonism  will  surely  follow. 
Under  the  theories  of  negro  education  at  present  obtaining 
in  that  section,  to  devote  the  fund  to  general  education 


224  The  Negro  Problem 

would  benefit  the  negro  but  slightly,  while  to  attempt  to 
apply  it  to  the  exclusive  training  of  the  black  man  on  lines 
running  counter  to  the  views  of  the  local  school  authorities 
could  result  in  nothing  less  than  educational  chaos. 

The  difficulties  resulting  from  the  attempt  to  introduce 
a  scheme  of  education  at  complete  variance  with  the  pur 
poses  of  the  community,  and  the  futility  of  the  endeavor  to 
conciliate  hostile  public  sentiment  by  irreproachable  man 
agement,  are  aptly  illustrated  by  the  recent  experience  of 
Tuskegee  Institute.  The  astounding  success  of  this  model 
institution  has  been  a  standing  protest  against  the  Southern 
belief  in  the  absolute  incapacity  of  the  negro. 

During  the  winter  of  1907  this  inimical  spirit  found  ex 
pression  in  a  legislative  inquiry  designed  to  reveal  the  short 
comings  of  the  school  and  thus  to  bring  reproach  upon 
Northern  ideas  concerning  negro  education.  The  plan  was 
thwarted  by  the  excellence  of  the  methods  and  the  value 
of  the  results  disclosed  by  the  able  and  impartial  investigator, 
Mr.  Harolson.  The  hostile  attitude,  however,  remains,  and 
will  be  manifested  at  the  first  opportunity. 

Mrs.  B.  Pullen-Burry,  a  travelled  English  woman,  author 
of  Ethiopia  in  Exile,  who  visited  this  country  in  1904,  tells, 
An  English  m  an  interesting  passage  of  her  work,  of  her  visit  to 
Traveller  at  Tuskegee  Institute  in  November  of  that  year,  and 
the  reception  of  the  news  of  Theodore  Roosevelt's 
re-election  by  the  teachers,  scholars,  and  guests  of  the  In 
stitute  in  the  Memorial  Institute  Chapel  on  election  night. 
After  graphically  describing  the  scene  in  which,  as  she 
phrases  it,  she,  as  uan  Englishwoman,  was  the  only  repre 
sentative  of  the  Caucasian  race,"  and  in  which  she  depicts 
the  interest  of  the  1500  students,  100  teachers,  and  outsiders, 
making  an  assemblage  of  upward  of  2000  people,  she  de 
scribes  the  prolonged  cheering  which  followed  President 
Booker  T.  Washington's  announcement  of  the  success  of  the 


The  Solution  of  the  North  225 

Republican  party  and  his  reading  of  the  despatch  of  the 
defeated  Democratic  candidate  congratulating  President 
Roosevelt  upon  his  victory.  She  continues: 

At  length  the  noise  became  furious,  especially  when 
returns  were  read  from  cities  considered  doubtful,  showing 
the  enormous  popularity  of  the  Republican  candidate. 
Shortly  after,  Dr.  Washington  rose  from  his  chair  and  read 
the  defeated  Democrat's  telegram  congratulating  his  oppo 
nent  on  his  victory,  the  country  having  shown  unmistaka 
bly  its  continued  confidence  in  his  leadership.  Prolonged 
cheering  relieved  the  tension  of  the  preceding  hours.  That 
night  there  was  no  marching  out  to  the  sound  of  the  band, 
no  singing  of  negro  songs  and  melodies;  the  girls  first,  in 
charge  of  their  teachers,  trooped  out,  then  the  youths 
passed  in  front  of  me  into  the  starlight  night  with  radiant, 
joy-lit  faces,  for  their  cause  had  won. 

Outside  the  building,  as  they  dispersed  to  their  different 
dormitories,  I  expressed  my  surprise  that  they  went  off 
with  so  little  noise,  thinking  how  British  lads  under  similar 
conditions  would  render  night  hideous  with  their  yells  and 
shouts.  But  the  teachers  escorting  me  to  my  quarters 
told  me  that  instinctively  the  lads  would  repress  any 
exhibition  of  feeling.  Down  below  the  hill,  said  they, 
the  whites  in  the  little  town  of  Tuskegee  would  be  feeling 
very  sore  at  the  overwhelming  triumph  of  their  political 
opponents,  and  would  be  in  no  humor  to  hear  the  colored 
people  rejoicing.  Dr.  Washington,  they  said,  always  en 
joined  upon  them  to  forego  offering  the  smallest  irritation 
to  the  white  people  in  the  neighborhood. 

I  can  scarcely  explain  my  own  feelings  as  I  partially 
realized  what  it  must  be  to  live,  an  alien  and  hated  race, 
in  a  strange  land;  it  was  wisdom,  learnt  in  a  school  of 
persecution,  to  train  these  young  people  to  walk  warily, 
to  refrain  from  the  expression  of  heartfelt  joy  which  might 
awaken  the  latent  enmity  of  the  dominating  race.  I  had 
not  personally  come  in  contact  with  race  prejudice  to  any 
15 


226  The  Negro  Problem 

extent,  but  a  few  days  at  Tuskegee  convinced  me  it  is  no 
myth  or  fancy. 

The  solution  of  the  South  is  definite  and  in  present  opera 
tion;  that  of  the  North  vague,  indefinite,  and  prospective. 
Effect  of  the  ^et  us  assume  however,  for  the  conduct  of  the 
Solution  of  discussion,  that  the  Northern  sentiment  crystal 
lizes  in  favor  of  a  solution  based  on  the  educational 
development  of  the  negro,  with  no  definite  purpose  beyond, 
and  that  by  national  assistance  and  individual  generosity 
sufficient  funds  are  provided  to  enable  its  advocates  to  put 
it  into  vigorous  operation.  What,  then,  are  likely  to  be 
the  effects  of  this  method  of  solution  ? 

In  the  first  place,  as  we  have  in  some  part  discussed,  it 
would  arouse  the  most  intense  opposition  in  the  section 
sought  to  be  benefited.  Its  consummation  would  involve  the 
abandonment  of  what  has  been  designated  the  plan  of  the 
South,  and  would  in  its  practical  outcome  destroy  in  great 
measure  the  ascendancy  of  the  white  man  over  the  negro 
by  which  alone  the  former  claims  that  Southern  civilization 
can  be  upheld.  The  clash  of  the  two  theories  would  em 
bitter  the  relations  of  the  sections,  and  the  struggle,  if  con 
tinued,  could  only  result  in  provoking  a  return  of  those 
animosities  which  have  so  deeply  scarred  our  past  history. 

The  negro,  too,  would  suffer.  Between  the  upper  mill 
stone  of  his  assisted  efforts  to  acquire  intellectual  training 
and  political  power  and  the  lower  millstone  of  social  and 
industrial  repression  imposed  by  his  environment,  condi 
tions  harsher  and  more  merciless  than  the  present  would 
be  the  result  of  the  grinding. 

Again,  it  may  be  asserted  that  the  educational  remedy 
is  absolutely  unavailing.  Possibly  centuries  of  education 
and  business  training  might  under  favoring  industrial 
circumstances  bring  about  the  desired  result,  but  the  expec- 


The  Solution  of  the  North  227 

tation  that  within  any  practicable  period,  and  by  the  em 
ployment  of  any  ordinary  means,  the  riegpo,  North  or 
South,  can  be  elevated  to  a  condition  of  life  in  which,  by 
reason  of  his  education,  wealth,  or  refinement,  he  will  be 
admitted  to  equality  with  the  white  man  will  never  be  real 
ized.  All  theories  based  upon  this  idea  are  illusory. 

To  make  this  clear,  if,  indeed,  it  needs  further  elucidation, 
let  us  assume  that  in  the  state  of  Mississippi,  where  58.5 
per  cent,  of  the  population  are  of  negro  blood,  the  ideal 
of  the  Northern  theorist  has  been  in  the  fullest  degree  at 
tained.  Consider  the  negroes,  by  some  miraculous  inter 
position,  to  have  been  elevated  to  the  level  of  the  whites, 
equalling  the  latter  in  all  respects  as  to  education,  culture, 
courage,  energy,  wealth,  and  political  sagacity.  What 
would  be  the  assured  result?  Would  the  whites  accept  the 
leadership  of  the  majority  and  accord  to  the  once  despised 
black  man  political  equality,  social  recognition,  and  official 
station?  Not  for  one  moment.  Would  we  see  a  negro 
governor  and  other  high  state  officials  controlling  the  affairs 
of  the  commonwealth  and  representing  it  in  the  national 
councils,  with  the  whites  placidly  submitting  to  be  thus 
ruled  and  represented?  Such  a  situation  is  not  imaginable 
at  the  present  or  at  any  future  time. 

The  logical  and  inevitable  result  of  a  condition  of  affairs 
as  above  described  would  be  a  race  conflict  of  gigantic  pro 
portions,  which  would  result,  were  no  intervention  to  occur, 
in  the  establishment  of  the  supremacy  of  the  numerical 
black  majority  and  the  abandonment  of  the  state  by  the 
white  minority.  But,  of  course,  no  such  result  could  be 
allowed.  Should  the  negro  advance  sufficiently  to  make  him 
a  formidable  antagonist  in  race  conflicts,  civil  war  would 
supervene,  the  national  government  would  of  necessity 
interpose  to  restore  order,  and  the  dangers  and  embarrass 
ments  of  the  reconstruction  period  would  recur. 


228  The  Negro  Problem 

The  solution  of  the  North  is  likewise  impossible.  Founded 
upon  a  fallacy,  it  leads  to  no  conclusion,  and,  if  persisted  in, 
its  ultimate  result  would  be  a  war  between  the  races,  the 
precursor  to  a  renewal  of  sectional  strife. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  POLITICAL  PHASE  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

In  a  confederacy  founded  on  republican  principles,  and  composed 
of  republican  members,  the  superintending  government  ought 
clearly  to  possess  authority  to  defend  the  system  against 
aristocratic  or  monarchical  innovations.  The  more  intimate 
the  nature  of  such  a  union  may  be,  the  greater  interest  have 
the  members  in  the  political  institutions  of  each  other,  and  the 
greater  right  to  insist  that  the  forms  of  government  under 
which  the  compact  was  entered  into  should  be  substantially 
maintained. — MADISON,  The  Federalist,  Number  42. 

THE  subject  of  this  chapter  is  the  flagrant  violation  of 
the  democratic  principle  underlying  our  institutions 
necessitated  by  the  presence  of  the  negro  in  large  numbers 
in   the   Southern   States.     Our   philosophy   of  government 
defines  democracy  as  a  society  based  upon  the 
cratic  absolute  equality  of  its  members  and  of  which 

Theory  of         j-ne  governmental  organization  is  formed,  con- 
Government. 

trolled,  and  administered  by  the  people  them 
selves,  exercising  political  power  either  by  direct  action 
or  by  means  of  chosen  representatives.  In  the  phrase  of 
Lincoln,  "  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for 
the  people." 

Such  a  form  of  government  is  alone  possible  where  the 
great  body  of  the  people  stand  substantially  on  a  plane  of 
racial  equality  and  where  all  privilege  derived  from  race, 
birth,  wealth,  or  even  based  upon  public  service,  has  been 
abolished.  The  existence  of  any  permanent 
by  wealth,  color,  or  hereditary  qualification, 

229 


230  The  Negro  Problem 

full  development  of  the  democratic  principle  in  government. 
Whether  it  be  an  aristocracy  of  birth,  a  privileged  religious 
class,  a  predominant  racial  element,  an  influential  land 
owning  minority,  or  any  other  form  of  special  privilege,  such 
an  institution  is  incompatible  with  the  existence  of  a  truly 
democratic  organization. 

This  ideal  of  democracy  as  a  great  social  and  political 
brotherhood,  as  it  is  understood  in  this  country,  in  the 
present  century,  is  of  comparatively  modern  origin.  In 
its  present  form  it  was  unknown  to  the  ancient  world.  The 
famed  democracy  of  Athens,  confined  within  a  small  and 
compact  territory  and  with  all  political  power  exercised  by 
a  few  citizens  enjoying  equality  among  themselves,  in  the 
midst  of  a  far  more  numerous  class  of  slaves,  and  also  con 
trolling  a  large  foreign  element,  presents  but  a  slight  resem 
blance  to  our  modern  political  organization.  The  Italian 
city  republics  of  the  Middle  Ages,  the  Batavian  republic, 
the  commonwealth  of  Cromwell  and  Milton,  all  fall  signally 
short  of  meeting  the  requirements  of  the  system  which, 
originating  in  the  dreams  of  Rousseau,  was  placed  for  the 
first  time  in  practical  operation  through  the  fervent  belief 
in  the  capacity  of  man  to  govern  himself  which  animated 
the  first  of  all  great  democrats,  Thomas  Jefferson. 

The  fundamental  conception  of  this  democratic  theory 
of  government  rests  upon  the  substantial  participation  of 
the  body  of  the  people  in  the  direction  of  their  public  affairs. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  it  demands  their  practical  una 
nimity  in  the  intelligent  administration  of  its  concerns,  their 
actual  active  participation  in  governmental  business,  com 
bined  with  a  sagacity  to  detect  the  shortcomings  of  their 
public  servants,  and  sufficient  ability  and  courage  under  all 
circumstances  to  displace,  when  necessary,  those  entrusted 
with  official  power  and  to  substitute  for  them  others,  when 
the  exercise  of  the  administrative,  legislative,  or  judicial 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem         231 

functions  does  not  conform  to  the  desires  of  the  people.  In 
so  far  as  the  operation  of  government  falls  short  of  this  ideal 
it  fails  to  be  in  fact  representative  democracy.  The  whole 
system  must  therefore  be  based  upon  the  approximate 
equality  of  all  its  component  members,  as  to  their  general 
qualifications  for  the  exercise  of  governmental  duties.  Above 
all,  [it  rests  upon  the  theory  that  the  people,  as  such,  know 
better  than  any  man  or  set  of  men  what  governmental  meas 
ures  are  conducive  to  their  permanent  interests. 

This  modern  democracy  may  be  said  to  find  expression 
only  in  Switzerland  and  the  United  States.  The  insignificant 
position  of  the  former  country  in  relation  to  the  great  world 
powers,  the  conservative  character  of  its  inhabitants,  and 
the  general  unimportance  of  its  political  problems,  attach 
to  it  but  small  consideration  as  a  factor  in  the  development 
of  the  democratic  theory,  and  it  is  to  our  country  alone  that 
the  world  now  looks,  sometimes  doubtfully,  but  usually 
in  a  hopeful  spirit,  for  the  solution  of  the  question  whether 
a  government  founded  upon  the  principles  of  representative 
democracy  can  indeed  permanently  endure. 

The  philosophers  of  antiquity  never  conceived  of  such. 
Even  in  the  ideal  republic  of  Plato,  where  the  final  aim  was 
the  cultivation  of  virtue  in  citizens,  leading  to  the  acquire 
ment  of  complete  happiness  by  every  member,  society  was 
organized  upon  a  plan  of  classification  of  citizens  antago 
nistic  to  our  ideas  of  a  modern  commonwealth. 

Sir  Thomas  More,  in  his  fascinating  description  of  the  state 
of  Utopia,  wherein  he  dreamed  of  things  much  rather  to  be 
hoped  for  than  ever  expected,  could  not  conceive  his  pro 
jected  social  organization  as  complete  without  the  intro 
duction  of  a  class  of  bondsmen. 

Now,  how  is  this  theory  of  democratic  government  to  be 
carried  into  practical  effect?  Simply  through  the  .ballot- 
box.  Lord  Brougham  said  of  the  English  Constitution,  that 


232  The  Negro  Problem 

All  we  see  about  us,  kings,  lords  and  commons,  the  whole 
machinery  of  the  state,  all  the  apparatus  of  the  system 
and  in  its  various  workings,  end  in  simply  bringing  twelve 
good  men  into  a  box. 

And  in  like  manner,  and  with  much  greater  emphasis,  it 
may  be  said  of  our  religious,  political,  and  educational  in 
stitutions,  that  our  constitutions  and  statutes,  our  churches, 
schools,  and  lecture  halls,  our  ballot-box  laws  and  political 
campaigns,  annually  filling  the  land  with  turmoil  and  tu 
multuous  eloquence,  have  each  and  all,  for  their  ultimate 
object,  the  enabling  of  every  citizen  to  attend  at  the  polls 
and  intelligently  and  without  intimidation  to  deposit  one 
ballot,  with  the  assurance  that  that  ballot  shall  be  fairly 
counted,  and  with  the  further  assurance  that  every  other 
man  of  proper  qualifications  shall  in  like  manner  be  en 
titled  to  deposit  his  ballot,  and  that  for  him  also,  one  ballot 
and  no  more  shall  be  counted. 

To  some  of  us  it  may  seem  that  at  times  the  measures 
adopted  to  secure  this  result  are  poorly  calculated  for  that 
purpose.  We  are  of  late  years  relying  altogether  too  much 
upon  the  machinery  of  complicated  election  laws,  and  upon 
a  ballot  system  ill-adapted  to  the  genius  of  a  free  people;  a 
system  which  has  a  tendency  to  encourage  the  weakness  and 
cowardice  of  underlings,  rather  than  the  open  and  manly 
performance  of  the  high  public  duty  involved  in  the  exercise 
of  the  franchise.  However,  this  is  apart  from  the  subject. 
In  hopeful  general  terms  we  may  confidently  say  that  while 
we  are  yet  far  away  from  the  ideal  electoral  system  of  a 
great  democracy,  with  one  notable  exception  the  nation  is 
gradually  approaching  toward  its  attainment. 

The  exception  to  which  reference  is  made  is  the  condition 
attending  the  exercise  of  the  franchise  in  the  Southern  States 
of  the  Union.  No  graver  suffrage  problem  ever  confronted 
a  nation,  and  never  in  its  aspects  of  gravity  was  the  prob- 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem        233 

lem  apparently  more   hopeless  than   at    the   present  time. 
To   those  who    intelligently  comprehend  what  is    involved 

in  the  operation  of  our  republican  form  of  gov- 
Effectofthe  ,       ,  ,       ... 

Negro  on  the  ernment,   and  who  are  familiar  with  the  evils 

w^^c^  ^ur^  'm  *ne  iUegal  deprivation  of  a  great 
body  of  citizens  of  their  right  to  participate  in 
their  ordinary  governmental  affairs,  the  situation  in  the 
South  is  of  a  deplorable  character. 

In  order  to  understand  the  condition  there  prevailing  it 
will  be  necessary  to  give  some  attention  to  the  origin  of  the 
trouble,  and  at  some  length  to  review  the  history  of  the 
partial  enfranchisement  and  subsequent  total  disfranchise- 
ment  of  the  negro  race  throughout  the  South. 

We  have  noted  in  our  hasty  review  of  the  history  of  the 
problem  the  circumstance  that  prior  to  the  Civil  War  the 
negro  was  not  in  general  considered  a  citizen  of  the  different 
states,  and  consequently  was  not  entitled  to  citizenship  of 
the  United  States.  By  judicial  decision  (The  Dred  Scott 
Case,  19  Howard,  393)  he  was  debarred  from  national 
citizenship.  The  privilege  of  voting  was,  therefore,  gener 
ally  denied  to  him.  In  five  of  the  New  England  States, 
where  his  numbers  rendered  him  a  negligible  factor,  he  was 
permitted  freely  to  exercise  the  suffrage,  and  to  a  restricted 
degree  Connecticut  accorded  to  him  this  same  privilege.  In 
the  state  of  New  York,  could  he  show  himself  to  be  the 
owner  of  real  property  of  some  considerable  value  free  of  all 
incumbrances,  after  a  residence  of  three  years  he  might 
vote.  In  the  other  Northern  States,  without  exception,  white 
men  alone  were  considered  worthy  of  the  franchise.  Even 
Kansas,  the  scene  of  the  final  struggle  between  freedom  and 
slavery,  the  state  consecrated  by  the  efforts  of  the  North 
to  the  cause  of  freedom,  denied  to  the  negro  the  right  to  vote. 

The  close  of  the  Civil  War  and  the  adoption  of  the  Thir 
teenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  which  almost  im- 


23 4  The  Negro  Problem 

mediately  followed,  left  the  negro  in  an  anomalous  situation. 
This  amendment,  of  which  the  ratification  was  announced 
by  the  Secretary  of  State,  December  16,  1865,  is  as  follows: 

Section  i.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude, 
except  as  punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall 
have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within  the  United 
States  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

Section  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this 
article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

By  force  of  the  amendment  he  had  ceased  to  be  a  slave, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision  he  was  not 
a  citizen.  For  lack  of  a  better  term  he  was  denominated 
a  freedman,  and  while  in  contemplation  of  the  law  he  may 
have  been  considered  free,  he  soon  found  that  in  practice 
his  freedom  was  of  the  most  limited  character. 

The  present  generation  has  but  little  conception  of  the 
grave  difficulties  attending  the  problem  of  reconstruction 
Difficulties  wm'cn  followed  the  war,  or  the  embarrassments 

of  Recon-  with  which  the  lawmakers  found  themselves  con 
struction.  .  ,  .  . 

fronted  in  endeavoring  to  reorganize  represent 
ative  government  in  the  states  lately  in  rebellion.  It  is  easy 
at  the  present  time  glibly  to  characterize  the  plan  of  re 
construction  adopted  by  Congress  as  being  a  mistake  and 
to  criticise  the  motives  of  those  responsible  for  its  adop 
tion.  But  now,  as  then,  with  our  limited  human  wisdom, 
it  is  difficult  to  demonstrate  that  any  other  or  better  method 
could  have  been  devised  and  adopted. 

Upon  strictly  logical  methods  of  reasoning,  two  diametri 
cally  opposite  plans  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  the  reconstruc 
tion  of  the  lately  rebellious  states  presented  themselves  for 
the  choice  of  Congress.  Historical  precedents  warranted 
the  government,  successful  after  a  war  imposing  upon  the 
North  untold  expense  and  suffering,  in  regarding  the  Southern 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem        235 

States  as  conquered  territory,  and  in  subjecting  them  to 
such  onerous  conditions  upon  reinstatement  to  their  former 
status  and  privileges  as  would  render  a  repetition  of  the 
offence  against  the  nation's  life  in  the  future  impossible. 
Some  of  the  radical  but  far-seeing  statesmen  of  the  recon 
struction  era  demanded  the  confiscation  of  the  land  and 
other  property  of  the  slaveholders  of  the  South,  and  its 
distribution  among  the  emancipated  negroes  as  compensa 
tion  for  their  toil  in  the  past  and  security  for  their  future 
defence.  "Forty  acres  and  a  mule"  has  passed  into  a  jest, 
but  in  its  serious  aspect  the  phrase  embodied  a  philosophic 
principle  which  logically  carried  into  operation  would  have 
at  least  afforded  the  negro  some  chance  for  political  freedom 
and  substantial  progress  in  the  acquisition  of  property. 
Some  effort,  indeed,  was  made  upon  these  lines.  The  Freed- 
man's  Bureau  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
the  lately  emancipated  slaves  with  the  necessaries  of  exist 
ence,  and  the  placing  of  these  homeless  people  on  all  aban 
doned  and  confiscated  land.  The  plan  went  even  farther 
than  this,  and  the  President  was  authorized  to  set  apart  from 
the  unoccupied  government  lands  in  Florida,  Mississippi, 
and  Arkansas,  three  million  acres  of  good  land  for  the  use 
of  the  freedmen  under  the  Homestead  and  Pre-emption  Laws, 
and  the  Bureau  was  further  authorized  to  purchase  tracts 
of  land  when  necessary  for  their  use.  But  the  hostility 
of  President  Johnson  to  the  reconstruction  measures,  and 
the  general  inefficiency  with  which  the  affairs  of  the  Bureau 
were  conducted  brought  the  scheme  to  naught,  and  the 
negro  remained  a  landless  dependent  in  the  midst  of  the 
naturally  fertile  country  cleared  and  improved  by  his  en 
forced  industry. 

It  needs  no  Henry   George  with  his  eloquent   Progress         . 
and  Poverty  to   convince   us  that   to  the  landowning  class          \ 
belong    honor,    wealth,    and     political     power,     and    that 


236  The  Negro  Problem 

under  these  circumstances  the  landless  and  voteless  ne 
gro  would  inevitably  remain  the  dependent  of  his  former 
master. 

It  is  said  that  Alexander  the  Second,  then  Emperor  of 
Russia,  criticised  our  abolition  of  slavery,  declaring  that 
unless  the  lands  of  the  South  were  appropriated  to  the  freed- 
men  emancipation  would  be  but  a  mockery  and  the  estab 
lishment  of  serfdom  the  inevitable  outcome.  And  so  it  has 
proved.  With  a  subconscious  perception  of  this  great 
economic  truth,  the  negro  is  to-day  seeking  to  become  a 
freeholder  in  the  South,  and  the  more  sagacious  minds  of 
the  race  are  continually  urging  him  to  seek  acquisitions 
in  this  direction.  Should  he  profit  to  any  great  extent 
by  this  excellent  advice,  and  become  the  owner  of  exten 
sive  areas  of  improved  and  well  developed  property,  so 
much  the  greater  in  proportion  will  the  gravity  of  the 
problem  become  and  the  final  solution  so  much  the  more 
difficult. 

The  radical  method  of  dealing  with  the  leaders  of  the 
states  lately  in  rebellion,  viz.,  execution  or  expatriation  for 
the  prominent  officials  and  soldiers,  confiscation  of  lands 
and  other  property,  and  total  disfranchisement  of  all  con 
cerned  in  the  rebellion,  happily  failed  of  adoption.  And  for 
the  moment  the  opposite  plan,  inspired  by  what  might  be 
regarded  as  undue  liberality  towards  the  defeated,  seemed 
likely  in  all  its  generous  features  to  prevail. 

What  Lincoln's  plan  would  have  been  we  have  no  means 
of  knowing.  It  never  had  been  indicated  by  him  except 
that  by  the  most  tentative  arrangements  he  had  sought  to 
allow  some  of  the  seceding  states  when  conquered  to  be 
restored  to  their  former  relations  under  careful  safeguards 
restricting  the  suffrage  to  those  evincing  loyalty  to  the  Federal 
Government.  In  his  last  public  address,  delivered  but 
three  days  before  his  assassination,  he  disclaimed  adherence 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem        237 

to  any  exclusive  and  inflexible  plan  and  stated  that  he  was 
considering  the  duty  of  making  some  new  announcement  on 
the  subject  to  the  people  of  the  South. 

His  successor  in  the  beginning  professed  an  endeavor  to 
follow  in  Lincoln's  footsteps,  and  on  the  2gth  of  May,  1865, 
issued  an  executive  proclamation  of  amnesty  and  pardon, 
which,  while  excluding  from  the  franchise  the  ruling  classes 
of  the  old  slaveholding  aristocracy,  restored  political  power 
to  the  great  mass  of  the  white  men  of  the  South.  For  it  must 
always  be  remembered  that  the  slaveholders  of  the  South 
constituted  but  a  small  minority  of  the  population,  less  than 
350,000  in  all,  by  the  census  of  1860. 

Following  the  amnesty  proclamation  provisional  gov 
ernors  were  appointed  for  the  Southern  States,  and  during 
the  summer  and  autumn  of  1865,  all  of  the  lately  seceding 
states,  except  Texas,  held  state  conventions,  and  either 
repealed  or  declared  as  void  ab  initio  the  ordinances  of 
secession,  abolished  slavery,  repudiated  all  debts  and  obli 
gations  incurred  in  the  aid  of  rebellion,  and  in  many  instances 
elected  Senators  and  members  of  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives  to  represent  them  in  Congress.  For  the  moment  it 
appeared  as  though  reconstruction  would  be  promptly 
accomplished  without  difficulty,  and  without  grave  change 
in  the  governmental  institutions  of  the  states  so  recently  at 
war  with  the  national  existence.  The  transformation  was 
effected  with  astounding  celerity. 

Ex-Secretary  of  State  Elaine,  in  his  work  Twenty  Years 
of  Congress  (page  88),  notes  the  fact  that  when  Congress 
adjourned  March  3,  1865,  Alexander  H.  Stephens  was  oc 
cupying  the  position  of  Vice-President  of  the  Southern  Con 
federacy.  When  it  reassembled  in  December  of  the  same 
year,  Mr.  Stephens  was  in  Washington  with  full  credentials, 
asking  admission  to  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  as  a 
representative  of  the  sovereign  and  reconstructed  common- 


238  The  Negro  Problem 

wealth  of  Georgia,  and  eagerly  ready  to  engage  in  the  legis 
lation  of  reconstruction. 

But  the  negro  was  not  forgotten.  The  sentiment  of  that 
era  in  the  North  was  much  keener  in  recognition  of  his  needs 
The  Con-  anc*  'm  Protecti°n  for  his  weakness  than  it  is  at 
dition  of  the  present  time,  and  the  statesmen  of  that  sec 
tion  had  not  failed  to  note  the  vindictive  and  ma 
licious  hatred  displayed  toward  the  emancipated  slaves,  who 
during  the  year  succeeding  the  war  were  absolutely  with 
out  legal  status  or  means  of  asserting  their  newly  attained 
freedom.  Shorn  of  the  protection  guaranteed  by  the  mas 
ter's  interest,  ignorant,  poverty-stricken,  inflamed  with  hope 
born  of  their  new  but  untested  privileges,  their  conduct 
toward  the  whites  was  anything  but  conciliatory.  A  spirit 
of  hostility  between  them  and  the  white  population  was 
immediately  engendered.  Throughout  the  South  laws  of 
the  harshest  character,  whose  only  purpose  could  be  the 
return  of  the  negro  to  virtual  slavery  conditions,  were  adopted 
by  the  ruling  class,  and  while  these  laws  were  framed  with 
such  malignant  cunning  as  not  to  be  limited  in  specific  form 
to  the  freedmen,  in  their  execution  they  were  exclusively 
confined  to  that  race;  indeed,  in  practical  operation,  the 
law  of  the  shotgun  and  rawhide  ran  unopposed  and  without 
appeal  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Mexican  border. 

The  adoption  of  the  Southern  plan  of  reconstruction 
with  its  ensuing  results  did  not  commend  itself  to  the 
The  Four-  Congress  which  assembled  in  Washington  in 

teenth  December,    186^,    and    accordingly    that    body 

Amendment.      ,  , 

adopted  an  amendment  to  the  Constitu 
tion  designed  forever  to  place  beyond  question  the  right 
of  the  negro  to  citizenship,  and  to  impose  upon  any  state 
depriving  him  of  the  privilege  of  exercising  the  franchise 
a  corresponding  abridgment  of  its  power  and  influence  in 
the  Electoral  College  and  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem         239 

This  amendment,  known  as  Article  XIV  of  the  Federal  Con 
stitution,  the  ratification  of  which  was  announced  by  the 
Secretary  of  State  July  25,  1868,  so  far  as  it  bears  upon  this 
discussion  is  as  follows: 

Section  i.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof  are  citizens 
of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside. 
No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge 
the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty  or 
property  without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person 
within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Sec.  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  according  to  their  respective  numbers, 
counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State,  ex 
cluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote 
at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  President  and 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  Representatives  in 
Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or 
the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of 
the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way 
abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other 
crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced 
in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens 
shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one 
years  of  age  in  such  State. 

The  purpose  of  this  amendment  as  it  came  from  the 
hands  of  its  framers  is  not  susceptible  of  misapprehension. 
It  was  designed,  first,  to  establish  in  the  fundamental  law 
of  the  land  the  status  of  the  negro  as  a  citizen,  and  to  guaran 
tee  that  as  such  citizen  no  state  should  deny  or  abridge  his 
privileges  to  life,  liberty,  or  property,  except  in  the  same 
manner  and  to  the  same  degree  in  which  this  might  be  done 


240  The  Negro  Problem 

as  to  any  other  citizen.  And  secondly,  that  should  any  state, 
for  reasons  considered  by  its  Legislature  as  sufficient,  deny 
or  abridge  to  any  considerable  portion  of  its  citizens  the 
privilege  of  participating  in  the  selection  of  officials  of  high 
rank,  its  representation  in  the  Electoral  College  and  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  should  in  like  measure  be 
diminished. 

During  the  winter  of  1866-1867,  the  Fourteenth  Amend 
ment  having  been  submitted  to  all  the  Southern  States,  then 
seeking  readmission  to  the  Union,  excepting  Tennessee,  it 
was  with  substantial  unanimity  by  all  contemptuously  re 
jected.  It  will  be  noted  that  this  amendment  did  not,  and 
does  not  at  the  present  time,  forbid  any  state  from  excluding 
the  negro  from  the  suffrage,  but  that  it  simply  denounces 
the  penalty  of  proportionate  loss  of  political  power  for  such 
action.  Mr.  Blaine  points  this  out  in  his  work  above  cited 
at  page  266,  where  he  says: 

As  a  matter  of  historical  truth  which  has  been  ingeniously 
and  continuously,  whether  ignorantly  or  malignantly, 
perverted,  this  point  cannot  be  too  fully  elaborated  nor  too 
forcibly  emphasized :  the  Northern  States,  or  the  Republican 
party,  which  then  wielded  the  aggregate  political  power  of  the 
North,  did  not  force  negro  suffrage  upon  the  South  or  exact 
it  as  a  condition  of  readmitting  the  Southern  States  to  the 
right  and  privilege  of  representation  in  Congress  until  after 
other  conditions  had  been  rejected  by  the  South. 

Mr.  Blaine  may  certainly  be  regarded  as  an  authority  upon 
this  subject,  since  he  took  a  leading  part  in  the  discussion 
of  the  amendment  in  Congress,  being  the  first  to  propose 
the  reduction  of  representation  where  disfranchisement 
was  employed.  He  might  with  truth  have  said:  Quorum 
pars  magna  fui. 

Such  was,  indeed,  the  fact,  and  it  is  very  unlikely  that  if 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem         241 

in  the  first  instance  this  amendment  had  been  accepted 
by  the  South  there  would  have  followed  an  insistence  upon 
the  negro's  right  to  the  suffrage.  Be  that  as  it  may,  upon 
the  rejection  of  the  amendment  the  course  and  policy  of 
reconstruction  changed.  A  bill  establishing  military  rule 
throughout  the  South  was  promptly  put  in  operation,  and 
new  constitutional  conventions  were  called  in  every  Southern 
state.  From  these  bodies  the  former  controlling  elements 
of  intelligence,  property,  and  lawmaking  experience  were 
excluded,  and  they  were  composed  principally  of  ignorant 
freedmen  recently  emancipated  from  slavery.  With  them 
were  joined  some  few  Northerners  known  as  "  carpet  bag 
gers,"  principally  adventurers  desirous  of  obtaining  rapid 
political  advancement,  and  a  small  percentage  of  generally 
well-meaning  but  unimportant  Southerners  to  whom  the  op 
probrious  term  of  "scalawag"  was  attached. 

Under  the  protection  of  the  military  power  and  out  of 
this  combination  of  heterogeneous  forces,  state  constitutions 
were  evolved  and  adopted.  The  ratification  of  the  Four 
teenth  Amendment  soon  followed,  and  on  June  27,  1870, 
Georgia,  the  last  of  the  Southern  States  to  seek  admission, 
was  restored  to  representation  in  Congress,  and  the  process 
of  reconstruction,  in  form  at  least,  was  completed. 

Before  this  time  it  had  become  apparent  that  the  pro 
tection  afforded  to  the  negro  by  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
The  Fif  was  insufficient  to  secure  to  him  the  privilege 
teenth  of  the  franchise.  By  the  second  section  of  that 
'amendment  it  was  permissible  for  a  state  to  deny 
or  abridge  the  exercise  of  the  right  to  vote  for  conditions 
arising  out  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude; 
the  only  penalty  for  such  state  action  being  a  proportionate 
diminution  of  representation  in  the  Electoral  College  and  in 
the  House  of  Representatives.  As  the  amendment  itself 
prescribed  no  self-executing  method  for  effecting  such  a 

16 


\ 


242  The  Negro  Problem 

reduction  of  representation,  the  difficulty  of  carrying  its 
minatory  provisions  into  effect  was  so  great  that  the  penalty 
involved  was  but  of  shadowy  character. 

It  was,  therefore,  thought  essential  to  the  more  complete 
development  of  the  plan  of  reconstruction  that  any  dis 
crimination  whatever  based  upon  race  should  be  forbidden; 
and  for  that  purpose  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  Con 
stitution,  proposed  by  Congress  February  27,  1869,  and  of 
which  the  ratification  was  announced  by  the  Secretary  of 
State  March  30,  1870,  was  adopted. 

This  amendment  is  as  follows : 

ARTICLE  XV. — Section  i.  The  right  of  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged 
by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State  on  account  of  race, 
color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Sec.  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article 
by  appropriate  legislation. 

It  has  sometimes  been  contended  that  the  adoption  of 
this  amendment  neutralized  the  effect  of  the  second  clause 
of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  but  such  is  clearly  not  the 
case.  Its  effect  may  well  be  stated  in  the  words  of  ex- 
Secretary  Elaine  (Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  page  418): 

The  adoption  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  seriously 
modified  the  effect  and  potency  of  the  second  clause  of 
the  Fourteenth  Amendment.  Under  that  section  a  state 
could  exclude  the  negro  from  the  right  of  suffrage  if 
willing  to  accept  the  penalty  of  the  proportional  loss 
of  representation  in  Congress  which  the  exclusion  of 
the  colored  population  from  the  basis  of  apportionment 
would  entail.  But  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  took  away 
absolutely  from  the  state  the  power  to  exclude  the  negro 
from  suffrage,  and  therefore  the  second  clause  of  the  Four 
teenth  Amendment  can  refer  only  to  those  other  disquali- 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem         243 

fications  never  likely  to  be  applied,  by  which  a  state  might 
lessen  her  voting  population  by  basing  the  right  of  suffrage 
on  the  ownership  of  real  estate,  or  on  the  possession  of  a 
fixed  income,  or  upon  a  certain  degree  of  education,  or  upon 
nativity,  or  religious  creed.  It  is  still  in  the  power  of  the 
states  to  apply  any  one  of  these  tests  or  all  of  them,  if 
willing  to  hazard  the  penalty  prescribed  in  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment.  But  it  is  not  probable  that  any  one  of  these 
tests  will  ever  be  applied.  Nor  were  they  seriously  taken 
into  consideration  when  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  was 
proposed  by  Congress.  Its  prime  object  was  to  correct 
the  wrongs  which  might  be  enacted  in  the  South,  and  the 
correction  proposed  was  direct  and  unmistakable,  viz., 
that  the  nation  would  exclude  the  negro  from  the  basis  of 
apportionment  wherever  the  state  should  exclude  him 
from  the  right  of  suffrage. 

In  reading  this  passage,  penned  but  slightly  over  twenty-five 
years  ago,  we  note  the  marked  change  of  opinion  in  regard 
The  Pur-  t°  this  essential  element  of  free  government, 
pose  of  the  The  eminent  author  somewhat  na'i'vely  says  that 
ment  it  is  exceedingly  unlikely  that  any  restriction 

Frustrated.  Q£  ^  suffrage  based  upon  the  ownership  of 
real  estate,  possession  of  a  fixed  income,  educational  quali 
fications,  nativity,  or  other  like  reason,  will  ever  be  applied. 
But  the  very  discriminations  which  he  considered  so  im 
probable  are  now  in  practical  operation  throughout  the 
entire  Southern  section  of  the  country.  .  The  Fifteenth  Amend 
ment  to  the  Constitution  is  inoperative,  the  negro  having 
been  disqualified  from  voting,  not  in  form  on  account;  of  his 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,  but,  as  a 
matter  of  substance,  by  ingeniously  worded  provisions  of 
law  applying  substantially  the  same  tests  to  the  race.  This 
cannot  be  better  illustrated  than  by  quoting  a  statement  of 
how  such  disqualification  is  effected,  from  the  Supreme 
Court  Reports  of  the  state  of  Mississippi  (20  Southern 


244  The  Negro  Problem 

Reporter,  865),  where  in  speaking  of  the  plan  adopted  by  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  the  state  of  Mississippi,  the 
Court  say  (the  italics  being  those  of  the  writer): 

Within  the  field  of  permissible  action  under  the  limi 
tations  proposed  by  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  Con 
vention  swept  the  field  of  expedients  to  obstruct  the  exercise 
of  suffrage  by  the  negro  race.  By  reason  of  its  previous 
condition  of  servitude  and  dependency,  this  race  had 
acquired  or  accentuated  certain  peculiarities  of  habit,  of 
temperament  and  of  character,  which  clearly  distinguished 
it  as  a  race  from  the  whites.  A  patient,  docile  people;  but 
careless,  landless,  migratory  within  certain  limits,  without 
forethought;  and  its  criminal  members  given  to  furtive 
offences  rather  than  the  robust  crimes  of  the  whites.  Re 
strained  by  the  Federal  Constitution  from  discriminating 
against  the  negro  race,  the  Convention  discriminates  against 
its  characteristics  and  the  offences  to  which  its  criminal 
members  are  prone. 

We  may  also  note  in  passing  that  the  Fourteenth  Amend 
ment,  the  prime  object  of  which,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Elaine, 
was  "  to  correct  the  wrongs  which  might  be  enacted  in  the 
South,"  and  the  sole  purpose  of  which  was  to  afford  protection 
to  the  negro,  is  now  being  utilized  to  effect  results  never 
dreamed  of  by  its  framers.  From  its  original  design  it  has  been 
diverted  by  recent  legal  development  to  the  unlooked-for  pur 
pose  of  protecting  great  financial  interests  from  hostile  state 
legislation  claimed  to  be  confiscatory  under  the  clause  forbid 
ding  the  states  to  "deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty  or 
property,  without  due  process  of  law." 

Typical  of  similar  action  taken  by  other  Southern  States, 
this  constitutional  discrimination  is  against  the  citizens  of 
the  state  possessing  the  characteristics  of  the  negro  and 
not  against  him  eo  nomine.  So  that  in  so  far  as  these  amend 
ments  to  the  Federal  Constitution  were  intended  to  confer 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem        245 

upon  the  negro  citizenship  and  the  privilege  of  participation 
in  governmental  affairs,  we  shall  later  see  that  their  operation 
has  been  completely  nullified,  and  that  as  to  the  supposed 
beneficiary,  while  they  keep  the  promise  to  the  ear  they 
break  it  to  the  hope. 

For  a  time  this  did  not  seem  to  be  the  case.  From  the 
fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  more  intelligent  white 
population  of  the  South  was  deprived  of  the  franchise  by 
the  measures  adopted  for  reconstruction,  the  negro,  under 
white  tuition,  emboldened  by  the  presence  of  the  military 
forces  of  the  government  throughout  the  South,  for  several 
years  in  substance  ruled  that  section  of  the  country. 

Occasion  will  not  be  taken  here  to  review  the  history  or 
to  describe  the  operations  of  what  were  known  as  the  carpet 
bag  governments  as  they  existed  in  the  South  between  1869 
and  1877.  Their  general  characteristics  are  familiar  to  all 
students  of  our  history.  Some  effort  at  constructive  work 
was  made,  a  few  measures  of  value  were  adopted,  but  in 
the  main  ignorance  and  venality  dominated  the  state  govern 
ments.  The  record  of  corruption,  maladministration,  and 
disgraceful  profligacy  in  governmental  affairs  cannot  be 
surpassed,  if  indeed  it  may  be  paralleled,  in  any  civilized 
community. 

Out  of  this  orgy  of  negro  domination,  the  South  emerged 
upon  the  withdrawal  of  the  Federal  troops  in  1877,  and  once 
more,  by  force  of  natural  character  and  traditional  capacity, 
the  white  man  assumed  control  of  the  state  governments. 
The  record  of  the  reconstruction  period  is  a  sad,  disgraceful 
episode  in  our  history,  the  pity  being  that  the  necessity  should 
ever  have  arisen  for  producing  such  a  stain  upon  the  record 
of  a  civilized  nation. 

Following  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  by  President 
Hayes  in  1877,  the  white  men  of  the  South  were  left  un 
trammelled  to  deal  with  the  subject  of  negro  suffrage,  and 


246  The  Negro  Problem 

the  ensuing  thirty  years  have  marked  a  continuous  process 
of  elimination  of  the  negro  vote.  Slowly  in  the  beginning, 
but  with  rapidly  accelerating  pace,  in  every  state  from 
Pennsylvania  to  Mexico,  the  negro  has  been  deprived  of  all 
power  of  participation  in  governmental  affairs.  For  years 
the  supervision  exercised  by  Congress  o\er  the  election 
of  its  members  gave  the  black  man  some  assurance  of  pro 
tection  at  the  polls,  but  with  the  repeal  of  the  Federal  Election 
Law,  and  the  defeat  of  Harrison  upon  this  issue  in  1892, 
every  vestige  of  practical  power  of  interference  in  his  behalf 
disappeared,  and  the  absolutely  unqualified  disfranchisement 
of  the  negro  was  but  a  question  of  the  briefest  time. 

It  is  true  that  this  has  not  been  done  without  the  strenuous 
protest  of  one  of  the  great  political  parties  in  the  North. 
The  platforms  of  that  party  and  the  messages  of  its  Presi 
dents  have  on  many  occasions  contained  indignant  ex 
postulation  against  this  disfranchisement  of  the  negro  on  the 
part  of  the  Southern  States,  and  have  demanded  a  corre 
sponding  reduction  of  Southern  representation.  But 
protests  have  been  disregarded,  threats  have  become  stale 
and  ineffectual,  and  the  fixed  and  undeniable  result 
effected  is  the  complete  suppression  of  the  negro  vote 
throughout  the  South.  Let  us  see  how  this  has  been 
brought  about. 

The  principal  influence '  by  which  this  was  originally 
accomplished  was  that  of  the  exercise  of  the  natural  control 
belonging  to  the  more  wealthy,  intellectual  members  of  the 
dominant  race,  accustomed  to  discharge  the  functions  of 
government  and  familiar  with  every  expedient  by  which 
the  negro  population  could  be  overawed,  and  by  no  means 
overscrupulous  in  the  employment  of  any  policy  likely  to 
deter  the  negro  from  the  exercise  of  the  franchise.  Domi 
nated  by  the  exercise  of  the  unquestioned  superior  mental 
power  of  the  Caucasian  race,  supplemented  whenever 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem        247 

necessary  by  the  exercise  of  physical  force,  amounting  if 
required  to  a  species  of  terrorism,  the  black  man,  naturally 
submissive  and  tractable,  and  standing  in  awe  of  his  former 
master  and  present  employer,  was  gradually  reduced  to  a 
condition  of  political  subjection. 

Whenever  necessary,  force  was  employed,  but  for  years 
to  prevent  the  negro  from  voting  the  main  reliance  was  upon 
this  species  of  moral  coercion.  If,  however,  he  did  insist 
on  exercising  the  privilege,  his  ignorance  made  it  easy,  by 
the  use  of  "tissue  ballots"  and  like  fraudulent  devices,  to 
insure  that  his  vote  should  not  be  counted  if  likely  to  be 
effective  in  the  result. 

In  order  to  make  this  temporary  condition  one  of  per 
manency,  it  was  soon  found  essential  that  restrictions  should 
Methods  of  ^e  wrought  into  the  fundamental  law  of  the 

Disfran-  community,  for  so  long  as  the  great  constitutional 
chisement.  ,  .  ,  ,  r  ,, 

amendments  designed  to  confer  upon  the  negro 

citizenship  and  the  right  of  suffrage  left  him  in  possession 
of  the  naked  legal  right,  it  was  found  difficult  to  repress  his 
growing  desire  to  utilize  the  franchise.  Accordingly,  it  be 
came  necessary,  for  the  successful  operation  of  permanently 
disfranchising  influences,  to  have  these  restrictions  embodied 
in  some  local  statutory  form  in  order  that  they  might  be 
enforced  with  at  least  ostensible  legality. 

For  that  purpose,  from  time  to  time,  beginning  in  1890 
with  what  was  called  the  Mississippi  plan,  certain  constitu 
tional  amendments  and  legislative  enactments  have  been 
adopted  by  the  Southern  States  to  bring  about  the  dis- 
franchisement  of  the  negro,  the  purpose  of  these  measures 
being  in  every  case  by  craft  and  subterfuge  to  violate  the 
spirit  of  the  Federal  Constitution  by  depriving  the  negro 
of  his  vote,  while  at  the  same  time  in  form  complying  with 
its  requirements  by  avoiding  all  mention  of  race  or  color. 
The  disqualifications  imposed  upon  the  negro  by  these  various 


248  The  Negro  Problem 

constitutional  provisions  and  the  laws  passed  for  their  en 
forcement  fall  readily  under  three  classes. 

First:  Those  based  upon  considerations  of  ancestry,  con 
ferring  the  unrestrained  privilege  of  voting  upon  those  who 
exercised  that  privilege  at  some  time  prior  to  the  adoption 
of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  and  to  their  descendants, 
thus,  without  naming  him,  excluding  the  negro. 

This  method  of  discrimination  is  commonly  known  as  the 
adoption  of  the  "grandfather  clause,"  of  which  the  statute 
now  in  force  in  the  state  of  North  Carolina  may  be  taken 
as  a  fair  example.  The  provision  in  that  state  is,  that  any 
one  who  was  entitled  to  vote  on  January  i,  1867,  and 
the  male  descendants  of  such  person,  are  entitled  to  vote 
irrespective  of  all  other  qualifications.  This  arrangement, 
coupled  in  some  states  with  a  provision  that  the  franchise 
is  not  to  be  taken  from  any  one  who  participated  in  any  of 
the  wars  in  which  this  country  has  been  engaged  or  his  male 
descendants,  prevails  in  the  states  of  Virginia,  North  Caro 
lina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana,  and  is,  of 
course,  effectual  in  relieving  white  men  of  the  favored  class 
from  the  disabilities  imposed  by  the  following  requirements. 

Second:  A  property  qualification,  which  generally  prevails 
throughout  the  Southern  States,  as  a  rule  requiring  as  a 
prerequisite  for  the  exercise  of  the  franchise  the  ownership 
of  at  least  three  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  real  or  personal 
property.  This  expedient  is  sufficient  in  itself  to  effect  the 
disfranchisement  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  negro  male 
population. 

To  this  requirement  is  frequently  added  the  imposition 
of  a  poll  tax  to  be  paid  some  considerable  period  of  time 
before  the  election,  a  provision  admirably  adapted  to  deter 
the  improvident  negro  from  the  exercise  of  the  voting  privilege. 

Third:  Lest  by  thrift  and  industry  the  negro  should  suc 
ceed  in  qualifying  himself  as  a  property  holder,  an  educa- 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem        249 

tional  qualification  is  superimposed  in  nearly  every  one 
of  the  states  mentioned.  If  this  in  itself  were  a  simple 
definite  test  of  intelligence,  perhaps  no  reasonable  objection 
could  be  interposed  to  its  adoption;  but  as  it  is  usually  left 
to  the  registering  officers,  white  men,  of  course,  to  examine 
the  applicant  for  registration,  and  to  pass  upon  his  qualifi 
cations,  the  elastic  educational  requirement  affords  an  easy 
method  of  repressing  the  desire  of  the  negro  to  participate 
in  election  affairs. 

The  vague  character  of  the  educational  tests  existing  in  the 
South  will  appear  from  the  following  sample  provisions: 

In  Mississippi  the  applicant  "must  be  able  to  read,  or 
understand  when  read  to  him,  any  clause  in  the  Constitution.'* 

In  Alabama  the  voter  "  must  be  a  person  of  good  character, 
and  who  understands  the  duties  and  obligations  of  citizens 
under  a  republican  form  of  government." 

And  in  varying  phrase,  in  the  other  Southern  States, 
similar  qualifications  are  required  of  the  ignorant  aspirant 
for  the  privilege  of  exercising  the  franchise. 

In  order  that  there  may  be  no  misunderstanding 

visions  for   of  the  character  of  the  measures  adopted  to  bar 

^hisement    ^ie  neSro  fr°m  voting,  some  of  the  provisions  now 

in  force  in  the  states  of  the  South  will  be  briefly 

considered: 

As  Maryland  has  comparatively  a  small  negro  population, 
and  the  political  parties  are  fairly  evenly  divided,  the  white 

men  have  difficulty  in  eliminating  the  negro  as 
Maryland.  J    _ 

a   political   factor.     Both   parties  are,   however, 

substantially  agreed  upon  the  subject. 

In  the  chapter  entitled  "The  Solution  of  the  South"  the 
provision  upon  this  subject  contained  in  the  Republican  state 
platform  of  1904  will  be  found  quoted  at  page  170,  and  the 
following  from  the  Democratic  platform  of  1905  sufficiently 
indicates  the  attitude  of  that  party  upon  the  subject: 


250  The  Negro  Problem 

Our  Democratic  Legislature  of  1904,  clothed  with  this 
power  and  exclusively  charged  with  this  duty  and  respon 
sibility,  proceeded  with  care  and  deliberation  to  frame  an 
amendment  which,  while  avoiding  all  conflict  with  the 
Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  amendments  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  will,  if  adopted,  rescue  us  in  Maryland 
from  the  blight  of  ignorant  and  debased  negro  suffrage. 

It  will  keep  from  our  registration  books  the  names  of 
thousands  of  ignorant  and  venal  negroes  totally  unfit  to 
vote,  and  will  thus  go  far  to  lessen  the  evils  of  absolute  and 
unrestricted  negro  suffrage. 

It  will  give  us  the  great  and  inestimable  boon  of  intelligent 
manhood  suffrage  and  secure  to  us  the  priceless  benefit 
of  the  political  supremacy  of  the  white  people  of  the  state. 

It  is  but  fair  to  say,  however,  that  the  amendment  pro 
posed  in  1905  and  designed  forever  to  exclude  the  negro  from 
participation  in  the  government  of  the  state  of  Maryland, 
failed  of  adoption.  This,  however,  was  because  it  went 
too  far  in  its  disfranchising  features,  and  thus  caused  appre 
hension  among  the  numerous  foreign-born  white  voters  of 
the  state  that  by  its  operation  they  also  would  be  debarred 
from  exercising  the  privilege  of  voting. 

The  Virginia  law  exacts  a  property  qualification  on  the 

part  of  the  voter  of  the  ownership  of  three  hundred  dollars 

in  real  or  personal  property,  and  also  the  ability 

to  understand  and  explain  when  read   to   him 

any  section  of  the  Constitution,  and  gives  the  right  to  any 

one  engaged  in  the  military  service  of  the  state  to  register 

irrespective  of  other  qualifications. 

The  North  Carolina  laws  are  of  the  same  general  nature, 
and  we  find  the  following  extract  in  the  Democratic  state 
North  platform  adopted  at  Greensboro,  July  3,  1906, 

Carolina,  expressing  congratulation  upon  the  successful 
working  of  the  plan  of  disfranchisement: 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem         251 

We  can  congratulate  the  people  of  North  Carolina  upon 
the  successful  operation  of  the  constitutional  amendment 
regulating  the  elective  franchise.  The  adoption  of  this 
measure  has  permanently  solved  the  race  problem,  which 
had  so  long  agitated  the  public  mind  and  was  a  menace  to 
peace  and  good  government. 

In  its  operation  the  assurances  made  by  the  Demo 
cratic  party  to  the  people,  that  no  white  man  would  be 
disfranchised  thereby,  have  been  fully  verified,  and  the 
prediction  of  the  Republican  party  to  the  contrary  proven 
false. 

The  South  Carolina  Constitution  is  of  a  somewhat  different 
character,  and  here  we  first  encounter  the  distinctive  de- 
South  velopment  of  the  new  political  institution  brought 
Carolina.  jnto  existence  by  reason  of  the  restriction  of 
suffrage  to  the  white  race. 

In  this  state,  without  any  special  laws  for  the  purpose, 
but  simply  by  the  overawing  of  the  black  man,  his  vote  has 
The  White  been  eliminated,  and  the  political  affairs  are 
Primary,  regulated  in  the  one  party  of  the  state  by  means 
of  the  primary.  There  being  but  one  party,  the  claims 
of  all  aspirants  for  office,  and  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  all 
important  measures  of  government  are  determined  by  the 
primary  election,  the  subsequent  general  election  being 
simply  a  ratification  of  the  result  of  the  primary. 

In  form  in  South  Carolina,  under  the  constitution  of  the 
Democratic  party,  negroes  may  vote  at  the  primary,  the 
condition  for  voting  being  as  follows: 

At  the  primary  election  only  Democratic  white  voters 
who  have  been  residents  of  the  state  twelve  months  and 
the  county  sixty  days  preceding  the  next  general  election, 
and  such  negroes  as  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1876 
and  as  have  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  continuously  since, 
to  be  shown  by  the  certificate  of  ten  white  Democratic 


252  The  Negro  Problem 

voters  who  will  pledge  themselves  to  support  the  nominees 
of  such  election,  may  vote. 

We  can  readily  see  from  the  simple  and  easily-complied- 
with  requirements  of  this  provision  of  the  Democratic  white 
men's  primary  what  ample  opportunity  exists  for  a  negro 
to  participate  in  the  selection  of  the  officers  of  the  state 
government. 

There  is  a  substantial  minority  party  in  the  state  of 
Georgia,  and  the  primary  system  has  been  adopted  as  a  per 
manent  policy  for  the  selection  of  United  States 
Senators,  state  officers,  and  Supreme  Court  and 
Appellate  Court  judges.  At  the  Democratic  convention  held 
September  4,  1906,  the  following  self-laudatory  plank  was 
adopted: 

The  white  primary  evolved  out  of  our  perplexities  is 
a  marvellous  triumph  of  self-government  and  should  always 
be  retained  and  strengthened;  back  of  it,  however,  hangs 
the  lowering  threat  that  whenever  the  hosts  of  privilege 
need  support  they  will  seek  to  divide  our  people  and  by 
means  of  the  corrupt  and  venal  negro  vote  retain  the  balance 
of  power.  We  favor  the  adoption  of  an  educational  quali 
fication  for  voting,  along  the  lines  followed  by  our  sister 
states  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Alabama, 
Mississippi  and  Louisiana..  The  amendment  ought  to  be 
so  drafted  as  to  exclude  the  largest  possible  percentage 
of  the  ignorant  and  purchasable  negro  vote  under  the 
limitations  imposed  by  the  Federal  Constitution. 

The  result  of  the  election  on  this  issue  in  this  most  pro 
gressive  state  of  the  South  is  thus  succinctly  stated  by  the 
Atlanta  Constitution,  March  31,  1907: 

The  people  of  this  state  have  declared,  by  an  over 
whelming  vote,  for  the  disfranchisement  of  the  negro. 
Even  those  who  regarded  such  legislation  as  unwise,  un- 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem        253 

necessary  and  dangerous,  promptly  acceded  to  the  popular 
will  as  expressed  at  the  ballot-box.  Ex-Governor  Northen 
has  himself  repeatedly  declared,  in  the  most  positive  terms, 
that  disfranchisement  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  his 
campaign  for  law  and  order.  It  is  understood,  and  agreed 
by  everybody,  that  the  Legislature,  at  its  approaching 
session,  will  frame  a  constitutional  amendment  embodying 
the  people's  wish  in  this  respect,  with  the  sole  stipulation 
that  no  white  man  shall  be  disfranchised,  as  pledged.  ' '  Dis 
franchisement "  is  therefore  a  dead  issue  in  Georgia.  It 
is  no  longer  open  to  debate. 

The  Legislature  of  1908  justified  the  expectations  of  the 
people  by  proposing  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
containing  drastic  measures  for  negro  disfranchisement, 
which  amendment  was  promptly  ratified  by  the  people  at 
the  general  election  held  on  October  7,  1908,  to  take  effect 
January  i,  1909,  and  of  which  the  following  are  the  leading 
features : 

In  order  to  register  and  vote,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary 
requirements  as  to  age,  sex,  and  residence,  the  would-be 
elector  must  have  paid,  at  least  six  months  before  election, 
all  taxes  required  of  him  since  the  adoption  of  the  Georgia 
Constitution  of  1877. 

Upon  compliance  with  this  provision  he  may  then  vote 
if  in  addition  thereto  he  comes  within  either  of  the  five 
following  classes: 

1.  All  persons  who  have  honorably  served  in  the  land 
or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  or  in  the  War  of  1812,  or  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  or 
in  any  war  with  the  Indians,  or  in  the  war  between  the 
States,  or  in  the  war  with  Spain,  or  who  honorably  served 
in  the  land  or  naval  forces  of  the  Confederate  States,  or 
of  the  State  of  Georgia  in  the  war  between  the  States,  or 

2.  All  persons  lawfully  descended  from  those  embraced 


254  The  Negro  Problem 

in  the  classes  enumerated  in  the  subdivision  next  above, 
or 

3.  All  persons  who  are  of  good  character,  and  under 
stand  the  duties  and  obligations  of  citizenship  under  a 
Republican  form  of  government,  or 

4.  All  persons  who  can  correctly  read  in  the  English 
language  any  paragraph  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  or  of  this  State  and  correctly  write  the  same  in  the 
English  language  when  read  to  them  by  any  one  of  the 
registrars,  and  all  persons  who  solely  because  of   physical 
disability  are  unable  to  comply  with  the  above  requirements, 
but  who  can  understand  and  give  a  reasonable  interpreta 
tion  of  any  paragraph  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  or  of  this  State,  that  may  be  read  to  them  by  any 
one  of  the  registrars;  or 

5.  Any  person  who  is  the  owner  in  good  faith  in  his 
own  right  of  at  least  forty  acres  of  land  situated  in  this 
State,  upon  which  he  resides,  or  is  the  owner  in  good  faith 
in  his  own  right  of  property,  situated  in  this  State  and 
assessed  for  taxation  at  the  value  of  five  hundred  dollars. 

Par.   5.     The  right  to  register  under  subdivisions    one 
and  two  of  paragraph  four  shall  continue  only  until  January 


This  amendment  contains  the  most  ingeniously  devised 
provisions  for  the  elimination  of  the  negro  vote. 

By  the  imposition  of  a  -poll  tax  to  be  paid  at  least  six 
months  before  election  the  mass  of  the  negroes  may  easily 
be  disfranchised.  Should  a  few,  however,  pay  this  tax 
such  ambitious  black  men  would  find  themselves  called 
upon  either  to  comply  with  a  severe  property  qualification 
or  to  reach  a  vague  standard  of  intelligence,  from  which 
requirements,  by  the  operation  of  the  "  Grandfather  Clauses'7 
of  the  first  and  second  subdivisions,  the  majority  of  white 
men  would  be  exempt.  In  the  hands  of  hostile  white  regis 
trars  the  negro  who  could  establish  his  "good  character" 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem         255 

and  demonstrate  his  understanding  of  "the  duties  and 
obligations  of  citizenship  under  a  republican  form  of  govern 
ment"  would  certainly  need  to  be  of  exceptional  character. 
The  amendment  effects  the  permanent  disfranchisement 
of  the  negroes  of  Georgia. 

The  same  general  system  of  white  primary  elections  pre 
vails  in  Florida,  the  negro  vote  appearing  to  be  completely 

eliminated.     The  last  platform  of  the  dominant 
Florida. 

party  contains  the  following: 

We  believe  that  true  democratic  principles  require  that 
the  people  be  consulted  in  all  matters  where  practicable, 
and  that  they  as  directly  as  possible  be  permitted  to  make 
known  their  wishes.  We,  therefore,  favor  the  nomination 
of  all  candidates  for  office,  both  in  state  and  county,  and 
of  United  States  Senators  by  a  majority  vote  in  white 
Democratic  primary  elections. 

This  state  has  taken  an  advanced  position  in  respect 
to  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  The  general  sentiment  of 
the  South  concedes  its  validity  and  demands  its  repeal,  but 
through  the  influence  of  State  Senator  Beard,  the  Legislature 
of  Florida  at  its  last  session  selected  a  different  mode  of 
attack  when  it  adopted  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  state 
Constitution,  to  limit  the  franchise  to  "white  males  21  years 
of  age  and  upwards." 

The  expectation  of  the  adoption  of  this  amendment,  so 
plainly  in  contravention  of  the  United  States  Constitution, 
is  based  upon  the  contention  of  Senator  Beard  that  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment  was  never  legally  adopted.  It  is  hoped 
to  carry  the  question  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  and  there  to  obtain  a  decision  which  would  enable  the 
South  to  lay  aside  all  pretence  and  subterfuge  and  to  disfran 
chise  the  negro  by  the  adoption  of  a  simple  race  disquali 
fication. 


256  The  Negro  Problem 

The  revised  Constitution  of  Alabama  went  into  effect  No 
vember  28,  1901.  The  Constitution  contains  two  distinct 

plans,  one  temporary  and  the  other  permanent. 

The  temporary  plan  remained  in  force  only  until 
January  i ,  1903  :  but  under  it  all  persons  registered  obtained 
certificates  which  entitled  them  to  vote  for  life,  provided  they 
complied  with  the  other  requirements  of  the  Constitution. 
Under  this  temporary  plan,  persons  possessing  the  pre 
scribed  qualifications  as  to  age  and  residence,  and  not  con 
victed  of  crime,  were  entitled  to  register  (i)  if  they  had 
honorably  served  in  the  War  of  1812  or  in  the  Mexican, 
Indian,  Civil  or  Spanish  War;  or  (2)  if  they  were  lawful 
descendants  of  persons  who  honorably  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  in  the  War  of  1812,  or  in  the  Mexican, 
Indian  or  Civil  War;  or  (3)  if  they  were  persons  of  good 
character  and  understood  the  duties  and  obligations  of 
citizenship.  The  permanent  plan,  in  substance,  admits 
to  registration  those  persons  only  who  possess  educational 
or  property  qualifications,  viz.:  (i)  those  who,  unless 
physically  disabled,  can  read  and  write  and  have  been 
regularly  engaged  in  some  lawful  employment  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  preceding  twelve  months;  and  (2)  those 
who  own  at  least  forty  acres  of  land  on  which  they  reside, 
or  own  real  or  personal  property  assessed  for  taxation  at  a 
valuation  of  at  least  $300,  on  which  the  taxes  for  the 
previous  year  have  been  paid. 1 

It  will  be  readily  perceived  how  carefully  devised  are  the 
provisions  designed  to  enable  white  men  to  exercise  the 
suffrage,  while  excluding  at  the  will  of  the  registration 
officials  any  politically  ambitious  negro. 

In  the  attempt  to  circumvent  the  provisions  of  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment,  Mississippi  has  always  enjoyed  an  easy  pre 
eminence.     Under    the    leadership    of    the    late 
Mississippi.  .       . 

Senator  George,  the    Constitutional    Convention 

of  1890  provided  certain  restrictions  of  a  character  kindred 
1  From  Suffrage  Limitations  at  the  South,  by  Francis  G.  Caffey 


Political  Phase  of  the  Problem         257 

to  those  of  the  states  before  mentioned,  which  have  stood 
the  tests  of  the  United  States  Courts.  Under  their  operation, 
the  negro  is  barred  from  voting  in  that  state. 

In  his  recent  article  on  the  subject  in  the  Metropolitan 
Magazine,  Congressman  John  Sharp  Williams  says: 

I,  like  any  other  man  with  a  drop  of  Southern  blood 
tingling  in  his  veins,  would  rather  be  able  to  accomplish 
directly  by  national  action  that  which  we  have  been  forced 
to  do  indirectly  by  state  action,  with  approximately  the 
same  result,  to  wit :  the  disfranchisement  of  the  negro. 

Well,  the  negro  is  indeed  thoroughly  disfranchised  in  that 
state.  In  the  recent  struggle  for  the  Senatorship  between 
Mr.  Williams  and  Governor  Vardaman,  the  final  issue  pre 
sented  to  the  voters  was  upon  the  expediency  of  advocating 
in  Congress  the  repeal  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  Both 
candidates  agreed  that  the  repeal  was  desirable,  the  only 
question  being  as  to  the  advisability  of  pressing  immediate 
action.  Governor  Vardaman  promised,  if  elected,  to  urge 
immediate  repeal;  Congressman  Williams  pleaded  for 
delay  lest  agitation  should  arouse  the  sleeping  North  to  an 
appreciation  of  the  situation.  On  the  issue  Williams  won 
by  a  close  vote,  in  a  primary  election  in  which  it  is  doubtful 
if  one  negro,  known  as  such,  participated. 

The  provisions  of  the  other  states  of  the  South  might  be 
quoted  and  analyzed  with  the  same  results.  But  enough 

T..  -  has  been  presented  to  substantiate  the  propo- 

JL/isii"£in~ 

chisement    sition    that    throughout    the    Southern    States    a 

omp  e  e.    unjform  practice  prevails,  generally  supported  by 

law,  of  excluding  from  the  polls  all  persons  of  African  blood. 

It  is  not  intended  by  this  statement  to  assert  that  at  times 

and  under  favorable  circumstances  a  few  negroes  are  not 

allowed  to  vote.     It  is  claimed  that  10,000  voted  in  North 

Carolina  in  the  last  Presidential  election.     Those  who  are 


258  The  Negro  Problem 

so  permitted,  however,  to  exercise  the  franchise,  do  so,  not 
as  a  matter  of  right  or  custom,  but  simply  as  the  recipients 
of  a  favor  conferred  by  those  who  have  the  power  to  grant 
or  to  withhold  the  privilege. 

But  when  we  read  from  time  to  time,  in  the  discussions 
of  this  phase  of  the  question,  the  hopeful  prognostication 
of  some  few  Southern  statesmen  that  at  some  future,  but 
exceedingly  indefinite,  time  a  carefully  selected  class  of  ne 
groes  may  be  found  worthy  by  reason  of  education  and  good 
character  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  the  ballot,  and  that  in  such 
event  it  will  be  accorded  to  them,  we  are  forcibly  reminded  of 
the  difficulties  experienced  by  the  augurs  of  early  Roman 
history  in  refraining  from  exhibitions  of  unseemly  levity  while 
gravely  announcing  to  the  credulous  populace  the  results 
of  their  divinations. 

The  unchangeable  fact  is  that  by  (i)  illegal  and  irregular 
practices,  (2)  constitutional  enactments  and  laws  passed 
thereunder,  and  (3)  repeated  and  unmistakable  public 
statements,  the  white  men  of  the  South  have  announced 
to  the  world  their  fixed  and  unalterable  resolution  to  deny 
to  the  black  man  all  participation  in  political  affairs,  and  to 
reserve  for  themselves  and  their  descendants  the  complete 
control  of  their  institutions. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    DISFRANCHISEMENT    OF    THE   NEGRO 

The  Northern  people,  with  their  curious  willingness  to  accept 
unwelcome  results  when  they  have  given  legal  sanction  to 
the  cause  whence  these  results  flow,  acquiesce  in  this  subjec 
tion  of  the  negro.  They  know  that  he  does  not  suffer  in 
person  or  estate,  and  if  he  is  tricked  out  of  his  political  priv 
ileges,  well,  it  is  only  because  he  is  not  strong  enough  to  pro 
tect  himself.  When  he  becomes  strong  enough,  all  will  come 
right.  To  attempt  to  give  him  protection  by  Federal  inter 
ference  would  involve  evils  far  greater  than  the  present. — 
BRYCE'S  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  ii.,  p.  309. 

WE  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  the  result  of 
forty  years  of  continuous  and  effective  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  South  to  the  principle  of  bestowing  the 
franchise  upon  the  negro   incorporated   in  the  Fourteenth 
and  Fifteenth  amendments.     This  result  is  no 
the6 Suppress-  IGSS  tnan  tne  complete  disfranchisement  of  the 

sion  of  the    race  jn  the  Southern  States.     For  good  or  evil, 
Negro  Vote. 

this  has  come  to  be  an  accepted  fact.     In  order 

that   this  result  may  have   ocular  demonstration,   the  table 
on  pages  260  and  261   is  submitted. 

This  table  is  based,  by  permission,  on  one  of  similar 
character  contained  in  a  powerful  and  illuminating  speech 
on  the  subject  of  equality  of  representation,  delivered 
by  the  Hon.  J.  Warren  Keifer,  of  Ohio,  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  March  15,  1906.  Congressman  Keifer, 
by  his  masterly  analysis  of  the  figures  contained  in  his  table, 
conclusively  demonstrates  the  evil  results  flowing  from  the 

259 


260 


The  Negro  Problem 


>£' 


wTiowTTOvw  voOO  N  N  00  VOOO  O  OO  O  O  f>  Ov  M  O> 
MOO\rHi/->TT«5>-<i-i<NNt^rO<ST  O\OO  O  CO  rO  tOO  N 
CO  0)  T  10  M  roo  O  O  T  '"-  w  M  <N  ro  "_  <N_  r-  rO3Q_  ^  ^  M.  "_ 
tC  tCo"  &  N  00  t^  fO  «  fO  >H"  (£30  O  10  T  POM  r-  10  <N  O~O~  « 
CO  10  CO  CO  *>•  CO  T  fO  fO  cs  fOfOWC^Ci  CO^O^O 


H  ior^O>P»   ror^ 


^O  \O  ro  vo  in  H 
<N  O  t*-SO  tOO 
OO  O\M  O  ^ 


^CO   M   O   fO  M   T 

O  O  00   OsoO    O  00  O   O   •*  M    &  ^O  00  vO   'I-O 
fOOO   "1  ^  «  l>  "    r-.  <>  O   M_  O_  TCO    !^5C«   ^T 


OO   TT  nvO    M  00 


.?jf*    * 

-5  §£ 
cS-3^ 


118 


,s 

S'S? 


§§i 

til 


fs 


Pn  cd 
13 


i  m  O   tO    M   M  O   w  00   10  POOO   OvrO^iO^i 


O>  t^OO    rOVOH    row    HiorOwOO   Mt-rj-O   -*M    OvOO  vO   H  \O 


t~~  lOO  O    <N    CNOOO    ONM    IOISOOOO    ONOMOTO    l^f 

'10100   w  toONTco*N   t^O  IOCNOOOO   ONO   CN    coior^oOoO 


O  O  f~  O   rO  roOO  10 


T    <N      Ot      M      M 


2* 

G% 

.a  .a  .a  .a  c  oj 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro    261 


?. 


m 


OssO   OsoO 

Os  Os  O 

co  o">  >o  o"  o"  O  i^vo"  Os  <N~  T?\O   Os  o"  •«*  »o6"oo"^O  00  t-- 

MrJ-lONMOsNCOOONCOtNl^MINCOwCOogtlO 

^  1030    O  MD    l~-  OS  10X0  lOOMCQM^N  ^ 

M 

M  °*  ^O   °  °°   O   °"  c?0  "^SN^S^MMC?? 

0 
OO 

'•O 

•o 

CO 
r<5 

CO 
CN 

*2 

M 
°. 

co  ^TOO  OsOO   co\O  N    co  O  »-  OsvO   O   O  00   co\O   CO 

tT  t-T  M 

00    M    •<fN    OSMOO    O    r9'*ri_  r^^O  00   t-.  10  rt  10  Os 
50          00    M  SO  ^J- 

"  Os 

SO" 


. 

ii 


262  The  Negro  Problem 

present  violation  by  the  South  of  the  fundamental  principle 
of  representation.  His  eloquent  plea  for  the  disfranchised 
negro,  however,  fell  upon  unheeding  ears,  the  common  sense 
of  Congress  recognizing  the  absolute  futility  of  any  attempt 
arbitrarily  to  reduce  the  representation  of  the  Southern 
States,  as  proposed  by  his  measure,  in  proportion  to  their 
disfranchisement  of  voters,  white  and  black. 

The  facts  disclosed  by  the  foregoing  table  reveal  the 
startling  extent  to  which  the  vote  of  the  South,  white  and 
black,  is  suppressed.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  ex 
amined  the  methods, — the  present  one  discloses  the  results. 
It  is  but  slight  exaggeration  to  say  that  democracy  in  its 
true  spirit  has  ceased  to  exist  from  Maryland  to  Mexico. 

Take  the  following  example  drawn  from  the  table:  In 
the  ten  states  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Texas, 
and  Arkansas,  in  which  are  centred  nine-tenths  of  the 
negro  population  of  the  country,  after  making  allowance 
for  natural  increase  of  population  since  1900,  there  were  in 
1906  approximately  4,250,000  voters,  white  and  black. 
In  the  Congressional  election  of  that  year  the  votes  cast  were 
as  follows: 

Average 
STATE.  No.  of  Con-  Votes.  per 

gressmen.  District. 

Alabama -  9  65,890  7»321 

Arkansas 7  S^oSQ  7,294 

Florida 3  22,949  7,649 

Georgia 11  33,34*  3,°3r 

Louisiana 7  37,296  5>328 

Mississippi.^ 8  20,265  2,533 

North  Carolina 10  202,523  20,252 

South  Carolina 7  29,529  4,218 

Texas 16  166,260  10,381 

Virginia 10  86,013  8,601 

Total 88  715,125  8,126 

The  remainder  of  the  country,  with  10,923,817  votes  cast, 
shows  an  average  per  district  of  34,267. 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     263 

It  will  be  noted  by  reference  to  the  table  at  page  55  that 
the  small  average  vote  follows  almost  exactly  the  large  pro 
portion  of  negroes  in  the  population. 

Now,  the  overwhelming  preponderance  of  one  party  in 
any  locality  is  likely  to  deter  many  voters  in  each  party  from 
undergoing  the  trouble  and  expense  of  presenting  themselves 
at  the  polls  in  an  ordinary  election;  but  when  there  exists 
an  intelligent  electorate,  coupled  with  the  unimpeded  right 
to  the  exercise  of  the  franchise,  a  fair  proportion  of  the 
qualified  voters  will  habitually  avail  themselves  of  the  voting 
privilege.  Witness  those  20,000  Democrats  who  for  nearly 
two  political  generations  have,  through  good  and  evil  report, 
annually  attended  at  the  polls  to  register  an  ineffectual  pro 
test  against  the  doctrines  of  Republicanism  entertained  by 
the  great  majority  of  the  voters  of  Vermont. 

But  where,  as  appears  by  the  foregoing  table,  throughout 
an  extensive  section  of  the  country,  only  one-sixth  of  those 
naturally  entitled  to  avail  themselves  of  the  suffrage  cast  their 
votes,  there  must  exist  conditions  demanding  instant  and 
remedial  investigation. 

Lest  the  foregoing  deductions  from  the  table  should  be 
deemed  an  overstatement  of  the  gravity  of  the  case,  on  the 
ground  that  in  the  years  included  in  the  table  the  elections 
were  national  in  character  and  the  results  being  a  foregone 
conclusion  in  the  states  of  the  South,  there  was  no  inducement 
to  the  voters  of  that  section  to  attend  at  the  polls,  whereas 
in  a  state  election  the  interests  involved  more  nearly  concern 
the  average  citizen  and  a  larger  participation  of  the  voters 
would  result,  the  following  comparison  between  two  typical 
states  is  presented. 

The  states  of  Georgia  and  Iowa  are  almost  equal  in  popu 
lation.  By  the  Census  of  1900  the  figures  were  as  follows: 

Iowa 2,231,360         Georgia 2,216,107 


264  The  Negro  Problem 

The  negroes  form  46.7  per  cent,  of  Georgia's  population 
and  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  that  of  Iowa. 

The  total  vote  case  in  those  states  at  the  last  four  elections 
for  Governor  was  as  follows: 

IOWA.  GEORGIA. 

1901 37°>563  1902 87,104 

1903 398,506  1904 66,880 

1906 413,111  1906 77,300 

1908 454,188  1908 124,037 


Average 409,092  Average 83,838 

Assuming  that  the  usual  proportion  of  about  one  male 
person  of  voting  age  to  every  five  persons  prevailed  in  each 
state,  and  taking  into  account  the  natural  increase  of  popula 
tion,  it  would  seem  to  follow  that  in  Georgia  only  one  person 
out  of  six  who  might  qualify  habitually  participated  in  the 
election  for  Governor,  while  in  Iowa  upward  of  four  out  of 
live  exercised  the  suffrage. 

This  contrast  between  oligarchy  and  democracy  should 
be  startling  to  those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  the  extent 
to  which  republican  government  has  disappeared  in  the 
South. 

The  Constitution  (Article  IV.,  Section  4)  provides:  The 
United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  state  in  this  Union  a 
republican  form  of  government. 

From  the  foregoing  examination  of  the  laws  controlling 

the  exercise  of  the  privilege  "of  voting  in  certain  Southern 

,          States,  and  from  our  analysis  of  the  figures  con- 

vSouth  a        tained  in  the  foregoing  table,  which  show  the 

Form  ofan  results  worked  out  by  the  operation  of  those  laws, 

Govern-       ft  js  at  jeast  a  fairly  debatable  question  whether 

the  forms  and  methods  of  government  prevailing 

in  that  section  are  in  spirit  and  in  truth  republican. 

These  non-partisan  statistics  reveal  the  fact  that  in  the 
state  of  Mississippi  the  number  of  qualified  voters,  as  shown 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     265 

by  the  Census  of  1900,  was  348,466.  By  the  year  1906  the 
numBers  had  probably  mounted  to  360,000,  of  which  ap 
proximately  160,000  were  white  men  and  200,000  of  the 
negro  race.  Now  the  total  vote  for  President  in  1904  was 
58,383, — less  than  one-sixth  of  the  electorate  voting  for  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union. 

Further,  in  the  Congressional  election  of  1906,  only  20,265 
votes  were  recorded  as  being  cast  for  the  eight  Represen 
tatives  in  the  Lower  House  of  Congress;  somewhat  less 
than  six  per  cent,  of  the  voters  in  the  state  attending  at  the 
polls.  To  put  it  in  another  way: — Out  of  every  eighteen 
male  persons  of  the  voting  age,  seventeen  either  did  not  take 
interest  enough  in  the  welfare  of  the  country  to  vote  at  an 
important  election,  or  were  prevented  by  law  or  intimidation 
from  participation  in  matters  of  the  weightiest  consequence 
to  the  whole  Union. 

Turning  to  the  state  of  Georgia,  in  like  manner,  we  find 
that  but  33,341  voters  out  of  upward  of  500,000  male 
persons  of  voting  age  were  recorded  as  having  participated 
in  the  Congressional  election  of  1906.  In  this  state  only  one 
voter  in  every  fifteen  deemed  it  worth  while  to  vote,  and 
throughout  the  state  the  vote  averaged  but  slightly  over 
3000  per  Congressional  district, — about  the  vote  of  an 
ordinary  borough  in  a  New  England  state. 

These  examples  might  easily  be  extended  in  wearisome 
repetition,  exhibiting  in  differing  degrees  the  indifference  of 
the  mass  of  voters  in  the  South,  or  else  the  practical  sup 
pression  of  the  voting  element,  black  and  white  alike,  in  the 
states  to  which  reference  is  made. 

Very  few  men  in  the  states  affected  engage  in  political 
activities,  and  these  few  naturally  form  a  privileged  ruling 
class,  determining  among  themselves  by  the  primary  or  by 
other  methods  what  measures  of  state  policy  shall  be  adopted 
and  what  persons  shall  enjoy  the  honors  and  emoluments  of 


266  The  Negro  Problem 

official  station.  Such  a  condition  of  political  affairs  is  the 
antithesis  of  democracy.  It  is  oligarchy,  pure  and  simple; 
the  rule  of  the  privileged  few  over  the  submissive  many; 
the  negation  of  a  republican  form  of  government;  the  com 
plete  break-down  of  all  constitutional  guarantees  established 
for  the  protection  of  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  last  century  a  powerful  political 
party  sought  to  effect  a  radical  parliamentary  reform  in 
England  by  the  abolition  of  what  were  known  as  the  "  Rotten 
Boroughs."  A  few  persons  of  privilege  held  the  absolute 
power  of  naming  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  from 
unimportant  localities  and  constituencies  representing  an 
insignificant  number  of  electors.  Such  members  when 
elected  were,  of  course,  subservient  to  the  control  of  those 
who  had  the  power  of  naming  them.  The  representatives  of 
these  "Rotten  Boroughs"  had  behind  them  no  free,  intelli 
gent  electorate,  and  the  English  sense  of  fair  play  was  invoked 
to  abolish  this  unfair  system.  The  struggle  was  intense,  but 
the  people  responded,  and  the  great  Parliamentary  reform  of 
1832  was  effected.  Since  that  reform,  and  with  all  its  short 
comings,  there  exists  in  the  English  Parliament  no  such 
"Rotten  Borough"  system  as  Mississippi  presents  to  the 
world  in  the  present  Congress  of  our  nation. 

The  Mississippi  district  represented  by  the  gentleman 
who  occupies  the  position  of -party  leader  of  one  of  the  great 
political  parties  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  embraces 
the  counties  of  Hinds,  Madison,  Rankin,  Warren,  and  Yazoo; 
a  compact  territory  in  the  "  Black  Belt"  bordering  the  Mis 
sissippi  River.  By  the  Census  of  1900  its  population  was 
190,885, — 74.5  per  cent,  being  of  the  negro  race.  At  the 
Congressional  election  of  1906  the  district  polled  2091  votes, 
all,  of  course,  in  favor  of  the  election  of  this  eminent  statesman. 

In  his  speeches  during  the  senatorial  campaign  in  the 
summer  of  1907,  Congressman  Williams  repeatedly  took 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro      267 

occasion  to  refer  in  terms  of  satisfaction  to  the  com 
plete  disfranchisement  of  the  negro  in  the  state,  and  is 
reported  as  having  blasphemously  declared  that  he  "never 
could  understand  why  God  Almighty  made  niggers  and 
rattlesnakes." 

But  what  of  the  142,174  black  men,  women,  and  children, 
who  form  the  body  of  the  workers,  producers,  and  taxpayers 
of  his  district?  Who  is  their  representative,  and  to  whom 
may  they  look  for  the  protection  of  their  individual  and  prop 
erty  rights?  In  what  substantial  respect  does  his  district 
differ  from  the  obsolete  and  long  abolished  "  Rotten  Borough" 
of  England  of  the  last  century  ? 

Contrast  this  district  for  a  moment  with  a  fairly  represen 
tative  New  England  district,  selecting  for  the  purpose  the 
fourth  Connecticut,  comprising  the  counties  of  Litchfield 
and  Fairfield.  Population — 247,875;  243,681  white,  4194 
negro.  Here  we  have  a  district  of  prosperous  farms,  grow 
ing  cities,  and  thriving  manufacturing  villages,  where  almost 
every  variety  of  industry  flourishes.  A  district  of  churches, 
schoolhouses,  libraries,  and  independent,  self-respecting  cit 
izens.  In  this  better  political  atmosphere,  46,455  votes 
were  cast  for  the  candidates  at  the  election  of  the  present 
Representative  as  against  the  2091  for  the  Hon.  John  Sharp 
Williams.  Note  the  contrast  between  oligarchy  and  repre 
sentative  government,  between  conditions  where  the  negroes 
are  numerous  and  where  they  are  not  sufficient  in  numbers 
to  constitute  a  political  factor. 

Subjected  to  the  simple  tests  applicable  to  a  republican 
form  of  government,  viz.:  (i)  An  intelligent  electorate;  (2) 
substantial  participation  by  the  body  of  the  people  at  elec 
tions;  and  (3)  election  laws  fair  in  purpose  and  honestly 
administered — many  of  the  states  of  the  South  fail  to  com 
ply  with  the  fundamental  requirements  of  the  structure  of 
government  contemplated  by  the  makers  of  the  Constitution 


268  The  Negro  Problem 

of  the  United  States  as  essential  for  its  members.     Their 
governments  are  oligarchical,  not  democratic. 

It  has  been,  of  course,  impossible  to  bring  about  this 
frustration  of  the  principles  of  democratic  government  with- 
The  Tustifi-  out  comPeHmg  tne  statesmen  of  the  South  to 
cation  of  feel  the  necessity  of  explaining,  apologizing  for, 
-t  "  or  vindicating  both  the  methods  adopted  and 
the  results  accomplished.  Accordingly,  we  find  carefully 
prepared  statements  presented  in  justification  of  the  methods 
adopted  and  in  full  commendation  of  the  results  flowing 
from  the  disfranchisement  of  the  negro. 

It  is  urged,  and  with  incontrovertible  force,  that  in  order 
to  preserve  the  civilization  of  the  section,  to  the  end  that 
the  white  man  might  continue  to  exist  and  to  enjoy  the 
benefit  of  the  institutions  which  his  forefathers  established, 
necessity  compelled  him  to  adopt  measures  for  the  complete 
elimination  of  the  negro  as  a  political  influence.  No  candid 
person  can  gainsay  this  argument.  What  has  been  done 
in  the  South  between  1870  and  the  present  time  must  be 
regarded  by  all  well-informed  persons  as  a  matter  of  absolute 
necessity,  and  would  have  been  done  in  any  community  of 
white  men  wherever  there  was  the  menace  of  the  domination 
of  a  race  at  once  ignorant,  inferior,  and  hostile.  This  fact, 
once  not  clearly  perceived,  has  now  become  so  apparent 
that  there  is  really  no  argument  advanced  in  opposition 
to  this  theory,  and  it  is  quietly  recognized  that  should  the 
same  menace  prevail  in  a  Northern  community  the  same 
methods  of  self-protection  would  be  resorted  to  by  the  men 
of  Caucasian  blood. 

And  yet,  in  order  to  justify  this  absolute  denial  of  the 
suffrage  to  the  black  race,  to  extenuate  this  seeming  com 
pliance  with  constitutional  provisions,  accompanied  by  a 
mock  respect  for  public  opinion,  some  specious  argument 
was  necessary  to  be  evolved  for  its  support.  Such  an  argu- 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     269 

ment  is  predicated  upon  the  statement  that  each  and  all  of 
the  methods  adopted  in  the  Southern  States,  viz.,  educational 
qualifications,  the  payment  of  poll  tax,  or  the  possession  of 
a  certain  amount  of  property,  or  indeed  the  exemption  from 
such  requirements  of  all  voters  who  either  themselves  or  whose 
ancestors  were  entitled  to  the  privilege  at  some  definitely 
fixed  period,  have  their  analogues  in  the  constitutions  or 
statutes  of  Northern  States. 

As  a  precedent  for  the  "grandfather  clause"  they  point 
to  the  provision  contained  in  the  twentieth  amendment 
to  the  Massachusetts  Constitution  by  which  an  educational 
qualification  for  suffrage  was  introduced  in  1857,  and  by 
which  it  was  declared  that,  "The  provisions  of  this  amend 
ment  shall  not  apply  to  any  person  who  now  has  the  right 
to  vote,"  and  explain  that  no  provision  for  the  reform  of 
their  election  laws  seeking  to  eliminate  ignorance  and  lack 
of  character  could  be  adopted,  except  by  the  assent  of  those 
already  possessed  of  the  suffrage.  Nothing  could  be  more 
disingenuous  than  to  seize  upon  an  isolated  provision  in 
the  laws  of  a  Northern  State,  the  effect  of  which  may  be  in 
good  faith  to  deprive  a  few  unfit  persons  of  the  exercise  of 
the  suffrage,  to  justify  a  wholesale  disfranchisement  effected 
by  unfair  and  illegal  methods. 

They  further  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  many  of 
the  Northern  States  constitutional  provisions  exist  imposing 
voting  qualifications  of  a  property  or  educational  character, 
and  from  this  premise  argue  that  their  methods  have  abun 
dant  precedent.  Were  the  laws  of  the  Southern  States 
excluding  from  the  suffrage  all  elements  of  poverty  and  ig 
norance  impartially  administered,  we  might  reluctantly  ac 
cept  them  as  expedient  while  deploring  the  condition  of 
society  which  necessitated  their  adoption.  But  judged  by 
results  their  purpose  is  too  apparent. 

However  plausible  the  justification  may  appear,  we  must 


270  The  Negro  Problem 

recur  again  to  the  Spanish  proverb  that  any  excuse  is  suffi 
cient  if  you  desire  to  beat  your  dog,  and  point  out,  as  we 
have  before,  the  real  and  generally  avowed  purpose  of  these 
constitutional  and  other  provisions  to  be  the  disfranchise- 
ment  of  the  negro  race. 

The  late  Senator  Gorman  of  Maryland,  as  familiar  as  any 
statesman  of  the  period  with  the  methods  employed  and  the 
results  effected  by  the  disfranchising  provisions  adopted, 
in  his  speech  at  Ellicott  City,  Maryland,  October  26,  1905, 
thus  succinctly  states  to  his  auditors  the  real  manner  in  which 
disfranchisement  was  brought  about: 

You  know,  as  well  as  I  do,  the  methods  that  we  employ. 
In  this  country,  as  in  every  other,  you  know  what  violence 
follows  when  it  is  attempted  by  law  to  bring  about  political 
or  social  equality  between  the  black  and  the  white  races. 
The  white  man  will  resent  it.  In  a  manly,  thoroughly 
American  fashion,  the  white  men  of  the  South  secured 
control  of  their  entire  section.  They  were  not  particular 
about  the  methods,  and  if  they  met  at  night  with  red 
shirts  they  meant  business.  They  took  possession.  It  was 
necessary  to  do  so.  But  their  methods  were  distasteful 
to  thoughtful  men,  and  were  objectionable  to  every  man 
who  loved  his  country.  They  intend  to  find  a  substitute 
for  such  methods  and  resort  to  the  law  by  changing  their 
state  constitutions. 

We  have  noted  what  provisions  were  introduced  into 
these  state  constitutions  following  the  lead  of  Mississippi, 
and  have  followed  the  results  of  the  process  to  their  legitimate 
conclusion  in  the  absolute  disfranchisement  of  the  negro  race. 
But  in  order  to  justify  a  continuation  of  this  disfranchisement 
with  the  observance  of  a  semblance  of  legality,  and  to  explain 
the  paucity  of  the  Southern  vote,  another  explanation  was 
deemed  requisite. 

This  may  be  found  characteristically  stated  in  a  pamphlet 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     271 

called  "Suffrage  Limitations  at  the  South,"  by  Francis  G. 
Caffey,  published  in  the  Political  Science  Quarterly,  vol.  xx., 
No.  i,  March,  1905.  Mr.  Caffey  presents  this: 

The  true  explanation  of  the  small  and  decreasing  average 
vote  in  Southern  elections  is  that  political  exigencies  have 
driven  the  people  in  the  South  more  and  more  into  the 
habit  of  settling  finally  in  Democratic  primaries  and  con 
ventions,  particularly  in  primaries,  whatever  political  dif 
ferences  exist  among  them.  The  result  is  that  it  is  now 
no  unusual  thing  for  the  number  of  votes  cast  in  a  general 
election  to  fall  to  a  very  small  proportion,  sometimes  as 
low  as  from  ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent.,  of  the  vote  cast 
in  the  nominating  primary  for  the  same  candidates.  The 
questions  at  issue  having  been  settled  in  the  primary,  the 
election  itself  is  a  mere  legal  formality,  to  which  no  more 
attention  is  given  than  is  necessary  to  record  the  result  of 
the  primary.  Thus  it  has  come  about  that  people  in  the 
South  have  accustomed  themselves  to  take  part  in  the 
choice  of  their  officials  almost  entirely  by  the  indirect 
method  of  sharing  in  the  selections  of  the  candidates  of 
one  party. 

The  foregoing  statement  explains  the  prevailing  condition 
of  political  atrophy,  so  far  as  explanation  is  possible,  but 
obviously  involves  the  failure  of  our  American  system  of  the 
ballot  and  the  substitution  of  the  agreement  of  a  governing 
class  both  as  to  measures  of  policy  and  the  personnel  of 
government.  Having  deprived  the  mass  of  the  people  of  the 
right  of  suffrage,  it  is  sought  by  an  extra-constitutional  or 
ganization  confined  to  the  select  few  to  rule  the  affairs  of 
the  commonwealth.  As  an  explanation  it  may  be  a  success; 
as  a  justification  it  is  a  failure. 

In  the  summer  of  1907,  a  spirited  contest  at  the  primaries 
was  held  in  the  state  of  Mississippi  between  Governor  Varda- 
man  and  Congressman  Williams,  the  prize  being  the  Senator- 


272  The  Negro  Problem 

ship  of  the  state.  Even  in  this  closely  contested  election 
only  about  117,000  voters  participated,  less  than  one- third 
of  the  normal  voting  strength  of  the  state. 

And  yet  even  this  condition  of  affairs  is  not  regarded  as 
entirely  satisfactory.  There  appears  to  be  at  the  South  an 
uneasy  consciousness  that  even  with  all  this  accomplished 
subversion  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  democratic 
policy  there  is  yet  danger.  Despite  the  imposition  of  edu 
cational  qualifications,  onerous  poll  taxes,  "  understanding  " 
clauses,  and  " grandfather "  and  "old  soldier"  provisions,  the 
apprehension  continues  that  the  negro  may  yet  succeed  in 
securing  political  control  by  dint  of  his  growing  intelligence 
and  preponderance  of  numbers. 

And  so  we  find  in  the  recent  debates  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  the  senior  Senator  from  the  state  of  Texas  in  his 
speech  of  January  4,  1907,  making  this  announcement  as 
to  the  attitude  of  the  people  of  his  state  toward  this  im 
portant  question: 

Speaking,  Mr.  President,  in  part  for  the  people  of  Texas — 
and  plainness  of  speech  is  best — it  is  not  inappropriate  to 
say  that  they  have  dealt  fairly  and  generously  with  the 
negro  in  all  essentials,  in  education,  in  charities,  in  helpful 
sympathies  and  in  the  protection  of  life,  liberty  and  prop 
erty.  But  I  would  not  be  candid  with  you  if  I  did  not  say 
that  in  other  respects  their  purposes  are  equally  resolute 
and  unalterable.  They  are  opposed  to  political  domination 
by  the  ignorant  and  the  vicious;  they  are  opposed  to  social 
equality  with  the  negro,  and  they  are  opposed  to  every 
tendency  which  will  ultimately  be  destructive  of  the  purity 
and  integrity  of  the  white  race. 

It  may  appear  to  be  superfluous  to  elaborate  the  dis 
cussion  of  this  subject,  but  the  writer  cannot  refrain  from 
quoting  one  more  extract  which  is  taken  from  a  speech  of  the 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     273 

senior  Senator  of  South  Carolina,  delivered  in  the  Senate 
on  January  12,  1907,  where,  looking  to  the  future,  he  says: 

/ 
/    Under  the  law — the  Fourteenth  or  Fifteenth  amendments 

— these  people  possess  every  right  that  white  men  have,  as 
far  as  the  Federal  Constitution  confers  rights,  and  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment  expressly  forbids  the  enactment  of 
any  law  which  shall  discriminate  in  voting  on  account  of 
race  or  color.  Large  numbers  of  these  negroes  are  dis 
franchised  at  this  time,  but  these  laws  are  only  temporary 
and  work  no  cure;  they  are  only  palliatives  and  offer  us 
only  a  breathing  spell,  and  in  the  near  future  enough  negroes 
will  be  able  to  vote,  under  laws  which  we  ourselves  have 
passed,  and  we  have  exhausted  all  expedients,  to  outvote 
us.  Can  anybody  undertake  to  say  that  there  will  not 
then  come  a  struggle  for  mastery  between  the  two  races  ? 

As  before  mentioned,  some  favored  individuals  of  the  race 
may  be  permitted,  as  a  matter  of  special  privilege,  to  exercise 
political  functions,  but  never  where  such  action 
win  Never  wou^  imperil  the  dominance  of  the  Caucasian 
Regain  the  race.  The  ballot  was  placed  in  the  hand  of  the 
Suffrage  in  black  man  for  his  protection  and  as  a  security 

em  Itates"  for  his  rights'  unable  to  protect  himself,  it  fell 
from  his  nerveless  hand,  and  the  right  thus  lost 
he  can  never  recover  by  his  own  exertion.  This  is  the  res 
olute  determination  of  the  white  men  of  the  South,  from 
which  they  will  never  swerve  or  waver,  and  this  assured  fact 
must  be  accepted  as  one  of  the  fixed  elements  entering  into 
the  solution  of  the  negro  problem. 

The  poet  declares,  "They  have  rights  who  dare  maintain 
them, "  and  the  ignorant,  dependent,  and  easily  intimidated 
Southern  negro  has  no  rights  which  he  is  capable  of  suc 
cessfully  asserting  in  response  to  this  test. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  disfranchisement  of  the 

18 


2 74  The  Negro  Problem 

Southern  negro  could  have  been  brought  about  without  the 
protest  of  the  North,  and  without  earnest  efforts  in  the  early 
TheAtti-  stages  °f  the  movement  to  prevent  its  ac- 
tude  of  the  complishment.  But  from  the  very  beginning, 
opposition  to  the  course  pursued  by  the  Southern 
commonwealths  was  hopeless.  The  only  method  by  which 
the  provisions  of  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  constitutional 
amendments  could  have  been  enforced  was  the  actual  pres 
ence  of  a  strong  military  force  throughout  the  entire  South 
ern  community.  Nothing  less  would  have  been  effectual. 

Neither  of  these  amendments  is  in  any  manner  self-exe 
cuting,  and  both  are  of  a  character  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
renders  them  easy  of  evasion.  The  Fourteenth  Amendment, 
indeed,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  reduction  of  the  represen 
tation  of  a  state  in  the  Electoral  College  or  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  by  reason  of  the  denial  or  abridgment  of 
the  right  to  vote  to  any  class  of  its  citizens,  is  a  mere  brutum 
fulmen.  Any  plausible  requirement  applicable  alike  to  the 
total  number  of  male  persons  over  twenty-one  in  the  state,  and 
which  in  its  nature  is  not  impossible  for  any  individual  to 
meet,  will  constitute  a  valid  restriction  upon  the  suffrage 
privilege. 

For  instance,  it  cannot  be  said  that  if  the  right  to  vote 
should  be  restricted  to  those  who  are  able  to  read  and  write, 
the  suffrage  as  to  others  is  denied  or  abridged,  because 
certainly  there  is  no  insuperable  obstacle  to  the  acquiring 
by  any  person  of  these  simple  accomplishments;  and  in  like 
manner,  the  payment  of  a  poll  tax,  or  a  reasonable  pro 
vision  as  to  registration,  have  always  and  in  all  places  been 
regarded  as  proper  regulations  of  the  suffrage,  and  not  as 
in  any  sense  a  denial  of  the  privilege. 

Besides  this,  what  remedy  can  be  suggested  short  of  the 
application  of  physical  force  for  the  righting  of  a  wrong 
of  this  character?  And  as  the  Hon.  James  Bryce  has  said 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     275 

in  the  extract  quoted  at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  it  has 
been  recognized  in  the  North  that  any  attempt  to  right  the 
wrong  of  the  negro  by  Federal  interference  would  involve 
evils  far  greater  than  those  which  are  the  subject  of  discus 
sion  in  this  chapter. 

But  the  North  has  not  been  unmindful  of  the  gross  viola 
tion  of  the  democratic  principle  involved  in  the  suppression 
of  the  negro  vote  in  the  South.  From  time  to  time  faint 
hearted  efforts  have  been  made  to  stay  the  progress  of  this 
evil  tendency.  Presidents  have  given  the  subject  great 
consideration  in  their  messages;  bills  for  the  purpose  of 
rigidly  enforcing  the  law  through  the  agency  of  United  States 
marshals  and,  if  necessary,  the  military  arm  of  the  nation 
have  been  introduced  and  discussed,  but  never  successfully 
put  in  operation. 

Schemes  for  the  reduction  of  the  representation  of  the 
South  in  the  Electoral  College  and  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  have  been  projected,  and  bills  for  that  purpose 
introduced  and  debated  in  Congress,  but  all  to  no  end.  At 
the  last  Congress  two  such  measures  were  introduced,  dis 
cussed,  and  abandoned,  and  one  at  least  is  pending  at  the 
present  time,  but  the  absolute  impracticability  of  taking 
action  is  so  apparent  that  nothing  in  the  way  of  remedy  can 
result. 

So  it  has  come  about  that  the  attitude  of  the  North  is  one 
of  unwilling  acceptance  of  the  resulting  ignominy.  It  is 
conceded  that  the  violation  exists,  that  the  means  employed 
for  negro  disfranchisement  are  abhorrent  to  the  principles 
of  our  government,  that  the  successful  evasion  of  the  purpose 
of  the  constitutional  amendments  is  a  reproach  to  the  theory 
and  practice  of  democracy,  that  the  condition  of  affairs  men 
aces  our  safety,  impairs  our  self-respect,  and  degrades  us 
in  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world.  And  yet 
the  leaders  of  political  thought  of  the  great,  intelligent, 


276  The  Negro  Problem 

populous  North,  the  section  charged  with  the  control  of 
the  destinies  of  our  country,  have  no  suggestion  to  offer  for 
the  reinstatement  of  the  integral  principle  of  democracy. 

In  a  notable  address  delivered  before  the  Union  League 
Club  of  New  York  some  three  years  ago,  the  Hon.  Elihu 
Root,  Secretary  of  State,  and  in  such  matters  generally  re 
garded  as  the  spokesman  of  the  National  Administration, 
frankly  admitted  that  the  experiment  of  placing  the  suffrage 
in  the  hands  of  the  emancipated  negroes  of  the  South  had 
proved  a  failure.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  by  amend 
ments  to  their  state  constitutions,  and  other  repressive 
laws,  the  Southern  States  had  absolutely  disfranchised  the 
negro,  and,  continuing,  gave  expression  to  the  view  that 
the  infliction  of  the  penalty  contained  in  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment  for  such  action  was  impossible  under  present 
circumstances. 

Such  being  the  case,  and  the  political  party  responsible 
for  the  conferring  of  the  suffrage  upon  the  negroes  tacitly 
consenting  to  their  practical  disfranchisement,  and  officially 
accepting  as  a  fact  the  unworthiness  of  the  race  for  the 
exercise  of  the  suffrage,  what  excuse  can  there  be  for 
permitting  the  numerically  unimportant  negroes  of  the 
North  to  enjoy  this  privilege  which  their  Southern  brothers 
are  refused?  Does  not  the  North  logically  accept  the  prin 
ciple  urged  by  the  white  men  of  the  South  that  the  negro  is 
intrinsically  unfit  to  exercise  the  suffrage,  and  with  such 
acceptance  is  not  the  controversy  over  the  failure  of  the 
experiment  of  bestowing  the  voting  privilege  upon  the  black 
man  forever  closed  ?  The  policy  of  the  North  appears  to  be 
silent  submission  to  the  evils  of  the  situation.  Even  protest 
has  ceased. 

In  a  speech  in  the  Senate,  January  19,  1907,  upon  the 
ever-recurring  question  of  the  negro,  Senator  John  C.  Spooner, 
of  Wisconsin,  eminent  lawyer  and  learned  leader  of  Northern 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     277 

thought,  had  this  to  say  of  the  discussion  aroused  by  the 
unfair  representation  of  the  South  in  the  Electoral  College 
and  the  House  of  Representatives,  based  upon  the  colored 
population  which  counts  but  does  not  vote: 

Senators  will  bear  me  witness  that  it  is  a  good  many 
years  since  this  subject  has  been  discussed  at  all  on  this  side 
of  the  Chamber.  When  I  first  came  to  the  Senate  it  was 
often  debated  with  a  violence  which  is  almost  always 
inseparable  from  it.  Silence  upon  it  has  not  been  a  sur 
render,  except  in  this  way,  that  it  has  come  to  be  felt  by 
our  people  at  large  that  the  delicate  and  difficult  problem 
down  there  can  be  best  settled  without  agitation  from 
without. 

Of  course,  there  cannot  be  a  universal  acceptance  of  this 

situation,  and  from  time  to  time  we  find  some  hopeful  soul 

Futile  Hopes  l°°king  forward  to  the  day  when  by  reason  of 

for  Im-         his   intellectual   and  financial  advancement  the 

negro  will  gradually  regain  political  power. 

In  an  address  recently  delivered  upon  the  relation  of  the 
South  to  pending  problems,  at  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
the  Hon.  Hannis  Taylor,  formerly  Minister  to  Spain,  and 
a  thoughtful  student  of  negro  conditions,  indulges  in  the 
following  hopeful  discussion: 

The  basic  principle  upon  which  the  new  Southern 
constitutions  rest  is  that  as  fast  as  our  colored  citizens 
become  qualified  by  education  or  property,  or  both,  for 
the  franchise  they  shall  be  endowed  with  it.  Without 
fraud  or  subterfuge  that  principle  should  be  firmly  applied 
in  the  actual  administration  of  government.  Intelligent 
and  responsible  minorities  of  colored  voters  thus  introduced 
into  Southern  electorates  can  never  menace,  in  my  judg 
ment,  the  political  supremacy  of  a  race  endowed  with  a 
genius  for  domination. 


278  The  Negro  Problem 

In  his  work  on  Political  Problems  of  American  Develop 
ment,  Professor  Albert  Shaw,  of  Columbia  University,  New 
York,  gives  expression  to  similarly  optimistic  sentiments. 
He  says  (p.  125): 

When,  after  another  decade  or  two,  the  political  life  of 
the  white  voters  of  the  South  has  reasserted  itself  in  a  whole 
some  way,  the  negroes  who  possess  fitness  will  undoubtedly 
be  admitted  to  the  exercise  of  their  legal  political  rights 
by  the  voluntary  action  of  their  white  neighbors. 

To  one  familiar  with  the  prevalent  feeling  of  the  South 
upon  the  subject  of  negro  voting,  these  predictions  are 
ludicrous  in  their  character. 

The  suggestion  that  when,  under  the  conditions  depicted 
in  the  foregoing  pages  of  this  work,  the  negro  becomes 
qualified  by  education  or  by  the  possession  of  property, 
he  may  be  entrusted  with  the  suffrage,  provided  that  such 
privilege  shall  not  menace  the  dominance  of  the  white  race, 
is  unworthy  of  the  consideration  of  an  intelligent  people. 
The  Greek  calends  will  be  long  past  ere  the  negro  vote  will 
be  counted  in  the  South  under  any  conditions. 

Recognizing  this  fact,  the  Republican  party  yet  regularly 
goes  through  the  resounding  farce  of  demanding  the  re 
duction  of  the  representation  of  the  Southern 
-  States  under  the  Fourteenth  Amendment.  Here 
publican  js  a  specimen  of  its  quadrennial  stultification 
copied  from  the  platform  adopted  at  Chicago, 
June  22, 1904: 

We  favor  such  Congressional  action  as  shall  determine 
whether  by  special  discriminations  the  elective  franchise 
in  any  state  has  been  unconstitutionally  limited,  and  if 
such  is  the  case,  we  demand  that  representation  in  Con 
gress  and  in  the  Electoral  College  shall  be  proportionally 
reduced  as  directed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     279 

With  an  overwhelming  majority  in  each  branch  of  the 
Congress,  and  a  President  elected  upon  this  profession  of 
political  principle  by  an  unprecedented  popular  majority, 
the  party  responsible  for  the  present  condition  of  the  negro's 
relation  to  the  franchise  supinely  neglected  to  attempt  to 
square  its  performance  with  the  promise,  fully  realizing  that 
the  evil  is  too  strongly  intrenched  to  be  thus  remedied. 

The  constitution  of  the  Republican  National  Convention 
of  1908  affords  a  striking  illustration  of  the  discreditable  con 
dition  of  the  present  political  situation.  From  ten  states  of 
the  South,  in  which  the  party  organization  is  the  merest  sham, 
and  from  which  not  one  electoral  vote  for  its  candidates  was 
under  any  circumstances  to  be  expected,  there  appeared  a 
swarm  of  negro  delegates.  They  were  allowed  to  participate 
in  the  work  of  the  body,  and  under  different  circumstances 
might  have  wielded  an  important,  perhaps  decisive,  influence 
in  the  selection  of  a  Presidential  candidate  for  whom  they, 
with  the  other  members  of  their  race,  would  be  debarred 
from  voting  in  their  respective  states. 

Every  four  years  we  see  this  travesty  on  methods  of  repre 
sentative  selection  enacted.  Every  four  years  we  are  called 
upon  to  witness  the  degrading  submission  of  this  great 
political  organization  to  the  indignity  of  allowing  its  councils 
to  be  swayed  by  the  presence  of  a  body  of  reputedly  venal 
negroes,  generally  persons  of  low  personal  character,  and 
at  best  representing  no  element  of  effective  American 
citizenship. 

The  wonder  is  that  some  self-respecting  delegate,  bearing 
the  commission  of  a  Northern  district  where  free  speech  is 
not  yet  a  tradition,  and  where  the  suffrage  rests  on  manhood 
foundation,  has  not  risen  in  his  place  in  affront,  and  exclaimed : 

Hold!  I  refuse  to  accord  equality  upon  the  floor  of  this 
convention  to  men  who  do  not  possess  the  intelligence  and 


280  The  Negro  Problem 

courage  to  demand  and  maintain  in  their  own  districts 
equality  for  themselves  and  for  those  whom  they  profess 
to  represent. 


The  conceded  fact  that  the  negro  will  never  regain  the 
privilege  of  the  ballot  is  a  most  momentous  factor  in  the 
Th  V  1  f  Pr°klem-  -^e  keenly  appreciates  his  deprivation, 
the  Ballot  to  The  value  of  the  ballot  to  him  is  inestimable. 
egro*  Its  purpose  and  utility  mean  far  more  to  its 
possessor  than  the  mere  honor  of  casting  it  on  election  day. 
Not  alone  does  it  confer  the  power  to  promote  such  political 
theories  as  may  appear  to  the  citizen  to  be  the  best  calculated 
to  subserve  the  permanent  interests  of  the  community,  or 
to  secure  the  success  at  the  polls  of  the  party  whose  measures 
he  deems  will  most  inure  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation;  it 
has  the  added  advantage  that  through  its  use  the  voter  may 
justifiably  exercise  his  power,  if  he  be  so  minded,  for  less 
altruistic  purposes,  and  employ  it  for  the  advancement  of 
his  personal  interests  as  distinguished  from  those  of  the 
country  at  large. 

While  as  a  matter  of  theory,  no  purpose  less  unselfish 
than  the  promotion  of  the  general  welfare  of  the  community 
should  actuate  the  voter  in  depositing  his  ballot,  as  a  matter 
of  everyday  practice,  so  long  as  men  differ  in  their  judgment 
of  candidates  and  measures,  the  voting  privilege  will  be 
utilized  for  the  purpose  of  the  fair  and  honest  advancement 
of  the  material  interests  of  its  possessor.  If,  under  our 
system  of  government,  the  voter  believes  that  the  adoption 
of  certain  measures  of  governmental  policy  would  be  in 
imical  to  his  interests,  or  that  the  election  of  a  certain  can 
didate  would  injuriously  affect  his  business  prospects,  the 
ballot  affords  him  a  legitimate  means  of  protection.  He  is 
then  in  position  to  combine  with  his  fellow-citizens  in  mutual 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     281 

efforts  to  promote  their  interests,  and  is  entitled  to  considera 
tion  as  the  equal  of  any  other  man  before  the  law.  With  the 
ballot  he  is  a  sovereign;  without  it  he  is  a  slave. 

So  long,  therefore,  as  participation  in  political  affairs  is 
denied  to  the  disfranchised  negro  in  the  South,  no  possible 
extension  of  education  or  accumulation  of  wealth  can  have 
any  other  effect  than  to  increase  his  discontent  and  to  render 
the  problem  more  hopeless  of  solution.  The  higher  his 
intellectual  gifts  the  more  keenly  he  feels  his  deprivation 
and  the  less  inclined  he  finds  himself  to  accept  his  local 
position  of  subordination  or  to  cherish  respect  for  the  National 
Government,  which,  having  solemnly  given  him  its  assurance 
of  equal  rights  and  privileges,  confesses  its  inability  to  trans 
late  its  promise  into  protection,  and  pusillanimously  abandons 
him  to  his  fate. 

Nor  is  this  the  end.  Deeper  yet  lies  the  pregnant  ques 
tion  as  to  what  must  be  the  effect  upon  our  national  life, 
The  Effect  *n  a^  *ts  varying  aspects,  of  this  violent  sup- 
of  Disfran-  pression  of  the  constitutional  right  of  two  million 
on  the  voters.  The  word  "violent"  is  used  advisedly, 
Nation.  for  m  ^he  last  analysis  this  suppression  of 
the  negro  vote  does  rest  upon  force  and  upon  force 
alone. 

It  is  a  commonplace  to  say  that  any  violation  of  the  moral 
law  will  inevitably  work  out  a  quality  of  retribution.  No 
man  or  woman  can  entertain  respect  for  the  government, 
or  for  those  chosen  to  administer  its  affairs,  if  it  be  under 
stood  that  the  exercise  of  the  franchise  is  attended  with  fraud 
or  injustice.  As  well  may  a  man  habitually  disregard  the 
laws  of  physiology  and  hygiene  governing  his  physical  con 
stitution,  or  the  merchant  violate  the  well  established  rules 
controlling  business  affairs,  and  yet  expect  in  the  one  case 
to  retain  health  or  in  the  other  to  enjoy  prosperity,  as 
may  a  nation  undertake  to  violate  the  primary  laws  of 


282  The  Negro  Problem 

rectitude  in  moral  and  political  affairs  and  hope  by  some 
fortuitous  circumstance  to  escape  the  logical  result  of  its 
conduct. 

"  God  is  not  to  be  mocked. "  While  " grandfather  clauses" 
and  other  ingeniously  devised  subterfuges  may  for  the 
day  successfully  deprive  the  negro  of  his  franchise  in 
the  South,  and  a  timorous  desire  for  peace  compel  unworthy 
submission  to  this  injustice  in  the  North,  the  spirit  of 
fair  play  inherent  in  the  American  people  will  not  per 
mit  such  artifices  permanently  to  dishonor  their  political 
institutions. 

Consider  for  a  moment  what  must  be  the  effect  upon  the 
youth  of  the  South,  of  this  established  system  of  political 
hypocrisy.  Under  the  prevailing  political  practices  existing 
of  necessity  in  that  section,  government  is  based  upon  force 
and  fraud,  manhood  suffrage  is  but  a  mockery,  and  politi 
cal  equality  a  fiction.  The  fast  diminishing  vote  indicates 
a  dangerous  condition  of  political  lethargy. 

Ours  is  a  government  of  discussion,  of  results  produced 
by  conference  among  equals,  and  where  the  necessary 
elements  for  such  discussion — intelligence  and  equality — • 
are  lacking,  the  results  cannot  be  other  than  disappointing. 
If  one  section  of  our  country  habitually  practises  methods 
in  direct  and  acknowledged  violation  of  our  democratic 
theory,  and  another  cravenly  submits  to  such  violations  for 
political  advantage  or  in  the  fear  of  jeopardizing  the  country's 
peace,  demoralization  of  the  conscience  of  the  young  voter 
inevitably  follows. 

The  ultimate  fact  is  that  the  Civil  War  sprang  from  the 
repudiation  by  the  South  of  the  fundamental  principle  of 
democracy,  viz.,  the  will  of  the  majority  of  qualified  voters, 
legally  ascertained  and  declared.  The  negro  was  the  cause, 
the  proposed  restriction  of  slavery  but  provided  the  excuse. 
It  was  this  violation  of  the  basic  theory  of  our  political 


The  Disfranchisement  of  the  Negro     283 

existence  which  aroused  the  national  spirit  of  self-preserva 
tion,  and  slowly  brought  the  North  to  the  stern  resolve  that 
at  all  hazards  and  sacrifices  the  integrity  of  the  democratic 
principle  must  be  maintained.  Anarchy  was  the  alternative 
presented. 

In  its  necessitated  denial  of  the  suffrage  to  the  black  man, 
the  South  continues  this  repudiation.  The  resulting  danger 
awaits  the  coming  of  some  unfortunate  situation  to  find 
the  nation  again  confronted  with  the  choice  between  tim 
orous  submission  to  an  acknowledged  injustice  to  millions 
of  its  negro  citizens,  or  the  resort  to  another  fratricidal 
conflict. 

The  patient  sentiment  of  the  North  tolerates,  while  recog 
nizing,  this  indefensible  condition,  yet  there  exists  a  constant, 
smouldering  sense  of  injustice  at  the  unfairness  of  allowing 
the  South  the  increased  representation  in  the  Electoral 
College  and  the  House  of  Representatives,  based  upon  these 
nine  millions  of  voiceless  citizens.  In  the  futile  expecta 
tion  that  in  some  unlooked-for  manner  the  injustice  may 
peacefully  pass  away,  the  matter  has  not  been  pressed  to 
a  conclusion,  but  the  dormant  irritation  affecting  clear-think 
ing  men  in  all  parts  of  the  land  will  not  be  allayed  until  this 
question  of  representation  is  finally  settled  upon  lines  of 
righteousness. 

The  purpose  of  this  perhaps  too  prolonged  discussion 
of  the  political  phase  of  the  negro  problem  has  been  to 
establish  the  proposition  that  the  presence  of  the  negro  race 
has,  of  necessity,  introduced  into  our  political  system  a 
dangerous  departure  from  sound  principles  of  government. 
The  evil  results  of  this  infraction  of  the  fundamental  laws 
of  our  political  being  may  be  deferred  for  decades,  or  perhaps 
for  centuries,  but  sooner  or  later  this  deviation  from  the 
path  of  righteousness  is  certain  to  involve  the  nation  in 
consequences  of  disastrous  character. 


284  The  Negro  Problem 

The  periods  of  a  nation's  development,  its  maturity  and 
decline,  are  to  be  measured  not  by  years  but  by  generations. 
With  our  limited  intellectual  vision  we  can  but  dimly  per 
ceive  the  relative  value  of  the  forces  engaged  in  shaping 
the  momentous  events  in  our  future  history  of  which  the 
womb  of  time  is  yet  to  be  delivered.  We  can  but  feebly 
estimate  the  results  which  are  destined  inexorably  to  follow 
this  established  violation  of  the  primary  law  of  our  political 
organization.  But  this  we  surely  know,  that,  in  the  end, 
error,  cowardice,  and  injustice  will  be  followed  by  expiation. 

Though  the  mills  of  God  grind  slowly,  yet  they  grind  ex 
ceeding  small ; 

Though  with  patience  he  stands  waiting,  with  exactness 
grinds  he  all. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  NEGRO'S  SOLUTION 

I  believe  that  a  straightforward,  honorable  treatment  of  black 
men  according  to  their  desert  and  achievement  will  soon 
settle  the  negro  problem.  If  the  South  is  right  in  its  con 
tention — that  negroes  cannot  by  reason  of  hereditary  in 
feriority  take  their  places  in  modern  civilization  beside  white 
men — few  will  rise  to  a  plane  that  will  make  their  social 
reception  a  matter  worth  consideration;  few  will  gain  the 
sobriety  and  industry  which  will  deserve  the  ballot;  and  few 
will  achieve  such  solid  moral  character  as  will  give  them 
welcome  to  the  fellowship  of  the  church.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  negroes  with  the  door  of  opportunity  thrown  wide  do 
become  men  of  industry  and  achievement,  of  moral  strength 
and  even  genius,  then  such  rise  will  silence  the  South  with 
an  eternal  silence. — PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  E.  BURGHARDT 
DuBois,  Lecture  at  Philadelphia  Divinity  School,  June,  1907. 


T 


HE  census  figures  of  1900  indicate   the  prevalence  of 
illiteracy  among  negroes  to  be  as  follows: 


Total  number  of  negroes  of  ten  years  of  age  and  up 
ward 6,415,581 

Total  number  illiterate 2,853,194 

Percentage  of  illiteracy 44-5 

The  census  of  1890  showed  the  percentage  of  illiteracy 
among  the  negroes  to  be  57.1  per  cent.  When  we  consider 
that  the  term  illiteracy  as  used  in  this  connection  denotes  an 
absolute  incapacity  to  read  and  write,  the  appalling  condition 
of  ignorance  of  the  negro  population  is  sufficiently  estab 
lished.  Of  the  55.5  per  cent,  shown  by  the  census  of  1900 
not  to  be  included  as  absolutely  illiterate,  probably  90  per 

285 


286  The  Negro  Problem 

cent,  or  more  would  be  classified  as  of  exceedingly  defective 
education  if  subjected  to  the  test  of  even  a  moderate  standard 
of  literary  acquirement. 

It  follows  from  the  foregoing  statistics,  and  from  our 
general  knowledge  of  the  race,  that  the  negroes  taken  en 

masse  can  have  no  intelligent  conception  of  the 
Incapacity  ,. 

of  the  Negro  problem    under    discussion,    and    consequently 

a°  Solution6  nave  no  su§gesti°n  f°r  its  solution.  Not  only 
is  this  the  fact  by  reason  of  the  inadequacy  of  their 
mental  equipment  and  experience  to  grasp  the  problem  in  all 
its  bearings,  but  it  is  altogether  the  more  so  for  the  reason 
that  they  have  been  for  centuries  accustomed  to  rely  for 
guidance  entirely  upon  the  people  of  the  Caucasian  race. 
This  is  true  as  well  of  the  North  as  of  the  South,  for  until  the 
last  two  decades,  with  few  but  conspicuous  exceptions,  the 
negro  has  been  content  to  follow  white  leadership  in  every 
question  connected  with  his  status  as  a  citizen  of  the  country. 

During  the  period  of  slavery  it  is  obvious  that  no  question 
of  the  kind  ever  arose  among  the  enslaved  negroes,  and  so 
far  as  the  freemen,  both  North  and  South,  were  concerned, 
the  contempt  in  which  they  were  held  caused  their  opinions 
to  be  consistently  disregarded.  Emancipation  and  enfran 
chisement  turned  the  mind  of  the  negro  toward  the  possi 
bility  of  achieving  position,  social  and  political,  in  the  South; 
but  as  years  have  elapsed  his  hopes  in  this  respect  have  been 
disappointed,  and  the  gravity  of  the  race  problem  has  begun 
to  impress  itself  upon  the  thoughtful  minds  brought  to  the 
front  by  education  and  the  natural  evolution  of  the  negro 
intellect. 

In  point  of  fact,  so  far  as  the  mass  of  the  negro  population 
in  its  condition  of  ignorance  and  political  suppression  is 
concerned,  the  only  problem  calling  urgently  for  solution 
is  that  of  the  acquisition  of  a  bare  livelihood,  and  only 
among  the  comparatively  few  engaged  in  professional  or 


The  Negro's  Solution  287 

educational  work  in  the  South,  and  the  still  fewer  who  have 
acquired  position  of  some  prominence  in  the  North,  is  there 
any  serious  comprehension  of  the  character  of  the  problem 
or  any  attempt  systematically  to  work  out  its  solution. 

The  difficulty  of  ascertaining  the  true  negro  sentiment 
on  the  subject  is  further  increased  by  two  quite  opposite 
traits  on  the  part  of  the  negroes  who  are  prominent  in  the 
discussion.  The  first  is  that,  as  with  the  Oriental,  the  negro 
mind  has  qualities  not  readily  understood  by  the  average 
Caucasian.  There  is  much  truth  in  the  saying  of  the 
Southerner : 

You  Northern  people  know  really  nothing  of  the  negro; 
you  must  have  lived  all  your  life  with  him  to  understand 
him. 

There  is  something  in  the  composition  of  the  African 
intellect  which  makes  it  a  sealed  book  to  the  ordinary  under 
standing  of  the  Caucasian. 

The  other  trait  springs  from  the  well-known  fact  that 
nearly  all  the  gifted  leaders  of  the  negro  race,  North  and 
South, — the  teachers,  clergymen,  doctors,  politicians,  and 
successful  business  men, — are  of  the  mulatto  type.  The 
common  practice  of  essayists  upon  the  question  of  negro 
capacity,  of  pausing  at  this  point  to  enter  upon  a  disquisi 
tion  relating  to  the  future  of  the  mulatto,  will  not  be  fol 
lowed.  It  suffices  for  present  purposes  to  emphasize  the 
fact  that  but  few  negroes,  from  Frederick  Douglass  to  Presi 
dent  Booker  T.  Washington,  who  have  a  record  of  accom 
plishment,  are  in  reality  anything  other  than  white  men 
with  an  infusion  of  African  blood.  Douglass  was  such;  Sena 
tor  Bruce  of  Mississippi,  the  foremost  negro  statesman  of 
the  reconstruction  period,  was  nearly  pure  white;  President 
Washington  claims  a  white  father,  is  apparently  of  three- 


288  The  Negro  Problem 

fourths  Caucasian  blood,  and  has  been  not  inaptly  described 
as  a  "bronzed  Irishman."  Professor  DuBois  would  pass 
anywhere  for  an  Italian  professor,  or  a  Parisian  maitre 
d'escrime.  Chestnut,  Atkins,  Anderson,  Stewart,  Fortune, 
and  other  prominent  men  of  the  race,  present  strongly  marked 
characteristics  of  Caucasian  extraction.  No  one  could  have 
seen  the  assemblage  at  the  National  Negro  Business  League 
meeting  in  New  York,  in  August,  1905,  without  being  moved 
to  remark  that  the  general  shade  of  complexion  of  the  mem 
bership  would  justify  the  Duke's  remark  to  Brabantio,  ufar 
more  fair  than  black." 

This  double  difficulty  of  ascertaining  the  attitude  of  the 
normal  African  mind  toward  the  question  tends  to  render 
any  conclusion  as  to  the  general  negro  view  of  the  problem 
exceedingly  subject  to  error.  Let  us,  however,  pursue  the 
course  followed  in  attempting  to  ascertain  the  character 
of  other  propositions  for  its  solution,  and  also  in  this  in 
stance  summon  our  black  witnesses  to  the  stand  and  from 
their  own  statements  endeavor  to  reach  a  conclusion. 

If  the  condition  of  the  thinking  negro  mind  could  be  made 
the  subject  of  careful  analysis,  it  would  reveal  the  race  in 
an  attitude  of  bitter  protest  against  present  conditions  and 
of  growing  despair  as  regards  future  amelioration.  So 
fervent,  however,  is  the  faith  of  the  race  in  the  protection  of 
the  Almighty,  so  optimistic  the  general  spirit  of  the  negro, 
that  without  much  substantial  foundation  for  his  belief 
he  is  yet  looking  forward  hopefully  to  some  satisfactory 
outcome  of  the  situation.  Apart  from  those  unthinking 
representatives  of  the  negro  population  who  exhaust  them 
selves  in  ineffectual  protest  against  existing  conditions 
without  suggestion  of  remedy,  we  find  two  fairly  well  defined 
solutions  outlined,  having  in  effect  the  same  purpose,  and 
devoted  to  the  same  end,  but  seeking  to  accomplish  it  by 
distinctly  different  methods. 


The  Negro's  Solution  289 

Let  us  first  consider  the  solution  suggested  by  the  school 
of  thought  of  which  President  Booker  T.  Washington,  of 
Tuskegee,  is  the  leading  exemplar.     No  one  can 
refrain    from    admiring    the    beautiful    spirit    of 


Develop-  optimism  with  which  this  distinguished  educator 
approaches  the  question,  and  the  vigor  and  ver 
satility  with  which  he  advocates  the  movement  which  he 
believes  will  work  out  the  salvation  of  his  race.  He  bases 
his  theory  of  the  solution  of  the  problem  mainly  upon  the 
industrial  advancement  of  his  people. 

"Get  land  —  get  business  —  get  money  —  get  recognition," 
is  his  constantly  reiterated  advice.  "Establish  your  affairs 
on  a  sound  financial  basis  and  the  white  man  will  recognize 
your  equality.  Show  to  the  world  your  capacity  for  indus 
trial  advancement  and  all  other  of  the  valuable  things  of 
the  world  will  not  long  be  wanting." 

From  a  recent  magazine  article  the  following  extract, 
containing  his  opinion  on  this  aspect  of  the  question,  is 
taken: 

When  a  black  man  owns  and  cultivates  the  best  farm 
to  be  found  in  his  county  he  will  have  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  most  of  the  white  people  of  that  county.  When 
a  black  man  is  the  largest  taxpayer  in  his  community  his 
white  neighbor  will  not  object  very  long  to  his  voting  and 
having  that  vote  honestly  counted.  Even  now  the  black 
man  who  has  $500  to  lend  has  no  trouble  to  find  a  white 
man  to  borrow  his  money. 

The  learned  educator  is  laboring  under  a  delusion  upon  this 
subject.  Let  the  farm  of  the  black  man  in  the  South  surpass 
in  every  respect  that  of  his  white  neighbors,  and  he  may  enjoy 
their  confidence  and  respect,  as  a  worthy  negro,  but  the 
social  barrier  is  all  the  more  firmly  maintained.  The  tax- 
gatherer  will  welcome  his  payment,  but  his  vote  will  not 


290  The  Negro  Problem 

be  counted  if  it  be  a  determining  factor  in  the  election,  and 
no  seat  in  the  jury  box  will  await  his  coming.  Certainly 
the  white  man  will  borrow  his  money,  but  in  borrowing  it 
he  feels  that  he  is  conferring  upon  the  negro  a  flattering  dis 
tinction.  Was  not  the  despised  Jew  for  centuries  the  money 
lender  of  Europe  ?  Does  not  the  noble  Antonio  say, — 

If  thou  wilt  lend  this  money,  lend  it  not  as  to  thy  friends ; 
for  when  did  friendship  take  a  breed  of  barren  metal  from 
his  friend?  But  lend  it  rather  to  thine  enemy,  who,  if  he 
break,  thou  mayest  with  better  face  exact  the  penalty. — • 
Merchant  of  Venice,  Act  L,  Scene  3. 

In  his  article  of  August  19,  1905,  in  the  Saturday  Evening 
Post,  Thomas  Dixon,  Jr.,  says,  concerning  the  position 
of  President  Washington: 

What  is  the  attitude  of  Mr.  Booker  T.  Washington  on 
this  vital  issue?  You  will  search  his  books  and  listen  to 
his  lectures  in  vain  for  any  direct  answer.  Why?  Because 
if  he  really  dared  to  say  what  in  his  soul  of  souls  he  believes 
he  would  end  his  great  career,  both  North  and  South.  In 
no  other  way  has  he  shown  his  talent  as  an  organizer  and 
leader  of  his  people  as  in  the  constant  skill  and  dexterity 
with  which  he  has  for  twenty  years  dodged  this  issue,  hold 
ing  steadily  the  good-will  of  the  Southern  white  man  and 
the  Northern  philanthropists.  He  is  the  greatest  diplo 
matist  his  race  ever  produced. 

In  this  view  Mr.  Dixon  is  right.  President  Washington, 
and  the  school  of  negro  thought  which  he  represents,  con 
sciously  or  unconsciously  are  endeavoring  to  work  out  the 
solution  of  the  problem  through  financial,  industrial,  and 
educational  advancement  of  the  negro,  until  eventually  in 
the  long  processes  of  time  he  will  either  establish  himself 
as  an  individual  and  independent  race  in  the  midst  of  our 


The  Negro's  Solution  291 

Caucasian  population,  or,  as  a  remote  probability,  bring 
about  the  final  amalgamation  of  the  races. 

For  to  this  ultimate  solution  the  thought  of  the  black  man 
and  woman  ever  turns.  The  deprivation  of  social  equality, 
Th  the  denial  of  a  spirit  of  sympathy,  constitute 

ing  for  the  unpardonable  offences  of  the  Caucasian 
qua  ity.  Coward  the  negro.  It  is  this  which  imparts  a 
tinge  of  bitterness  to  his  literature  of  protest  against  the 
curtailment  of  his  political  rights  and  the  discrimination 
against  him  in  industrial  occupations.  The  latter  two  might 
be  silently  endured  in  the  hope  of  his  being  able  to  surmount 
them  in  the  near  future;  but  the  refusal  of  the  white  man  to 
share  with  him  the  privileges  of  social  life  and  the  unbending 
resolution  against  racial  intermixture  are  factors  never  to  be 
overcome. 

In  reading  the  discussions  of  the  members  of  the  negro 
race  on  the  problem,  one  notes  the  ever-present  assumption 
that  in  the  end  education  and  wealth  will  bring  about  the 
desired  equality.  It  would  seem  as  though  it  were  never 
forgotten  that  in  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  the  principal  negro 
characters,  with  the  exception  of  the  hero,  mingle  freely 
with  white  people,  and,  indeed,  frequently  pass  for  Cau 
casians,  and  that  in  the  course  of  the  novel  several  marriages 
between  the  members  of  the  different  races  occur. 

From  a  recent  article  in  the  North  American  Review 
(March  15,  1907)  by  Colonel  Robert  L.  Bullard,  on  "The 
Cuban  Negro,"  a  passage  in  illustration  of  this  sentiment 
of  the  race  may  be  quoted: 

The  sentimental  for  the  negro  is  everywhere  above  the 
substantial.  The  old  sergeant  whom  I  encountered  in 
Cuba  had  piecemeal  answered  me  that  he  was  surer  of  all 
substantial  rights,  surer  of  justice,  better  protected  by 
the  laws,  lived  better  and  earned  more  in  the  United  States, 
but  he  ended  with  saying:  "Ten  to  one,  sir,  I  'd  rather  live 


2 92  The  Negro  Problem 

in  Cuba,  because  here  there  's  no  difference  between  us  and 
white  folks.  "  He  spoke  the  desire  of  his  whole  race.  This 
distinction  is  their  heaviest  burden.  Said  a  young  man 
who  had  followed  the  American  forces  to  Cuba  in  the  war 
with  Spain:  "I  'd  rather  live  in  Cuba,  Colonel,  'cause  de 
cullud  peoples  here  lives  married  to  white  folks  jes  de  same 
es  anybody.  En  dey  eats  wid  um  en  drinks  wid  um  en 
talks  to  um  jes  de  same  as  anybody.  An  den  anodder  thing, 
dey's  policemans  jes  de  same  es  white  uns. "  The  ablest 
of  his  blood  in  their  longest  dissertations  have  not  yet 
stated  as  plainly  and  as  fully  the  whole  aspiration  of  the 
race  as  this  simple  fellow  in  three  brief  sentences. 

At  a  very  recent  reception  given  by  Governor  Magoon 
at  Havana,  white  and  black  are  said  to  have  mingled  on  a 
footing  of  apparent  social  equality.  Perhaps  if  the  Cau 
casian  in  the  "ever  faithful  isle"  had  refused  to  permit  the 
miscegenation  which  has  given  to  Cuba  a  hybrid  population, 
there  would  be  no  occasion  for  an  American  proconsul  to  be 
in  the  discharge  of  governmental  authority  at  Havana,  and 
the  negro  problem  of  the  island  would  present  a  less  sinister 
aspect. 

The  school  of  negro  thought  which  seeks  this  deferred 
solution  insists  upon  the  negro  acquiring  land,  a  pregnant 
and  significant  fact  when  we  consider  that  this  must  neces 
sarily  be  the  foundation  of  his  prosperity  and  the  stepping- 
stone  to  all  of  his  higher  development.  The  advocates  of 
this  theory  claim  nothing  affirmatively,  ask  no  immediate 
right  of  suffrage,  demand  no  social  recognition,  but  are 
content  slowly  to  acquire  the  material  prosperity  which  they 
believe  will  in  time  work  out  through  labor  and  moral 
development  the  enfranchisement  of  the  race. 

In  a  recent  address  at  the  Tuskegee  Conference,  President 
Washington  said: 

Any  black  man  who  is  worthy  his  salt  can  build  a  decent 


The  Negro's  Solution  293 

home  —  can  raise  a  respectable  family  —  can  secure  all  the 
work  he  wants  —  can  educate  his  children  —  can  have  free 
dom  of  religious  worship  —  can  secure  and  maintain  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  his  neighbors  of  both  races.  But 
we  must  not  be  satisfied  with  what  we  have  achieved  in 
the  past,  we  must  continue  to  go  forward.  .  .  .  As  we  grow 
materially  let  us  work  with  all  our  might  to  turn  material 
possessions  into  the  highest  moral  and  mental  and  religious 
usefulness. 

How  can  any  one  fail  to  sympathize  with  the  spirit  which 
underlies  this  statement  of  the  purpose  of  the  race?  The 
aim  of  his  work  in  the  field  of  education  is  to  inspire  his 
followers  with  a  spirit  of  industry  and  self-respect  and  to 
establish  a  moral  and  religious  standard  which  would  do 
honor  to  the  most  cultivated  of  peoples. 

And  yet,  if  the  premises  from  which  we  are  reasoning  are 

sound,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that  this  line  of  conduct  affords 

no  solution  of  the  problem.     The  goal  toward 

trial  Solu-"  which  the  efforts  of  President  Washington  and 


his  colleagues  are  directed  is  under  present  cir- 
Failure. 

cumstances   impossible   of  attainment,   and   the 

work  which  he  is  doing,  the  efforts  which  he  and  his  sup 
porters  so  unsparingly  put  forth,  tend  only  to  render  the 
problem  more  acute  and  the  final  solution  desired  by  them 
more  difficult. 

With  others  who  follow  his  leadership  in  this  regard,  he 
is  beginning  to  announce  the  doctrine  of  industrial,  social, 
and  political  separation  of  the  African  race  from  the  people 
in  the  midst  of  which  it  has  its  existence.  He  would  erect 
an  imperium  in  imperio,  and  without  at  present  demanding 
the  segregation  of  the  races  by  geographical  lines,  would 
leave  them  each  as  a  separate  and  isolated  people  within 
the  same  territorial  area.  The  result  of  what  may  be  termed 
the  industrial  solution  of  the  problem  would  result  in  the 


294  The  Negro  Problem 

collapse  of  the  democratic  theory  and  practice  in  the  Southern 
community,  and  would  in  itself  be  an  impossibility  in  the 
North,  where  the  paucity  of  numbers  among  negroes  would 
prevent  its  successful  application. 

Another  consideration,  however,  enters  into  the  discussion 
of  this  aspect  of  the  problem.  If  the  progress  of  the  negro 
in  the  South  during  his  period  of  freedom  has  been  great, 
the  progress  of  his  white  neighbor  has  been  immeasurably 
greater.  If,  as  President  Washington  asserts,  the  negro 
has  acquired  since  emancipation  land  equal  in  area  to  the 
combined  territory  of  Holland  and  Belgium,  the  white 
man  has  yet  fifty  acres  to  the  black  man's  one.  If  he  has 
in  the  same  time  succeeded  in  establishing  thirty-one  small 
banks,  the  other  race  possesses  upward  of  a  thousand. 
Granting  the  negro  his  $500,000,000  of  property  accumulated 
during  the  past  forty-five  years,  the  energetic  Southern 
Caucasian  has  increased  the  value  of  his  real  and  personal 
estate  since  the  war  from  $3,500,000,000  to  $18,500,000,000. 
In  all  respects  the  progress  of  the  white  during  the  period 
mentioned  has  far  outstripped  that  of  the  black.  It  is  well 
to  extol  the  progress  of  the  Southern  negro  and  to  urge  him 
to  the  more  vigorous  cultivation  of  the  virtues  of  industry, 
thrift,  and  self-control  so  essential  to  his  permanent  success. 
But  to  expect  that,  laboring  as  he  does  under  the  cumulative 
handicap  of  his  present  condition  of  ignorance,  social  os 
tracism,  political  disfranchisement,  and  industrial  sub 
ordination,  he  will  approach  the  material  prosperity  of  the 
ruling  race  is  flatteringly  to  ascribe  to  him  a  natural  superi 
ority  over  the  white  man  of  which  his  record  gives  no  warrant. 

The  contrast  is  as  old  as  y£sop, — the  tale  of  the  hare  and 
the  tortoise;  only  in  this  instance  the  hare  is  not  likely 
to  fall  asleep. 

But  the  negro  race  is  far  from  being  unanimous  upon  the 
policy  of  following  President  Washington  in  his  proposition 


The  Negro's  Solution  295 

of  awaiting  industrial  development  and  slowly  by  toil  and 
accumulation  winning  the  favorable  regard  of  the  white  man. 
The  There  are  those,  and  not  an  inconsiderable  few, 

Niagara  who  are  dissatisfied  with  his  plan  of  dilatory  ad- 
Movement.  ,  .  ,  ,  .  .  .  . 

vancement,  and  who  seek  by  the  bold  assertion 

of  the  negro's  constitutional  rights  at  once  to  secure  him  in 
a  position  of  social  and  political  equality.  This  is  naturally 
the  growing  view  of  the  subject  entertained  by  the  more 
energetic  negroes,  and  the  one  which  year  by  year,  with  the 
education  of  the  race,  is  certain  to  increase  in  its  insistent 
demand  for  recognition  of  the  negro's  position,  both  before 
the  law  and  in  all  matters  of  social  concern. 

Slowly  coming  to  results,  this  tendency,  which  for  the 
past  ten  years  has  been  developing  itself  among  the  negroes, 
first  took  definite  shape  in  a  national  conference  which  met 
at  Niagara  Falls  on  July  u,  1905,  and  in  which  prominent 
negro  representatives  were  present  from  fourteen  states  of 
the  Union.  At  this  meeting  the  national  organization  was 
formed  which  calls  itself  "The  Niagara  Movement,"  and 
which  is  certain,  from  the  numbers  and  character  of  its 
membership  and  the  vigor  of  its  purpose,  to  achieve  a  high 
position  as  the  representative  organization  of  the  more  ardent 
spirits  of  the  negro  race. 

In  addition  to  its  general  consideration  of  the  necessities 
of  the  black  men  and  women,  and  the  suggestion  of  various 
lines  of  endeavor  for  their  industrial  advancement,  the  main 
purpose  of  the  organization  appears  to  be  to  place  before  the 
people  of  the  country  in  practical  form  a  proposed  negro 
solution  of  the  problem. 

After  a  year  of  work  and  propagandism,  in  August,  1906, 
the  organization  held  its  second  meeting,  at  Harpers  Ferry, 
and  issued  an  address  to  the  country  which  has  been  widely 
circulated,  North  and  South,  and  which  is  herein  set  forth 
in  full,  as  the  final  and  insistent  demand  of  the  negro  for 


296  The  Negro  Problem 

"  industrial,  political,  and  social  equality  as  the  only  solution 
of  the  problem." 

THE   NIAGARA   MOVEMENT 

Address  to  the  Country. 

The  men  of  the  Niagara  Movement,  coming  from  the 
toil  of  the  year's  hard  work  and  pausing  a  moment  from 
the  earning  of  their  daily  bread,  turn  toward  the  nation 
and  again  ask  in  the  name  of  ten  million  the  privilege  of  a 
hearing.  In  the  past  year  the  work  of  the  negro-hater 
has  flourished  in  the  land.  Step  by  step  the  defenders  of 
the  rights  of  American  citizens  have  retreated.  The  work 
of  stealing  the  black  man's  ballot  has  progressed  and  the 
fifty  and  more  representatives  of  stolen  votes  still  sit  in 
the  nation's  capital.  Discrimination  in  travel  and  public 
accommodation  has  so  spread  that  some  of  our  weaker 
brethren  are  actually  afraid  to  thunder  against  color  dis 
crimination  as  such  and  are  simply  whispering  for  ordinary 
decencies. 

Against  this  the  Niagara  Movement  eternally  protests. 
We  will  not  be  satisfied  to  take  one  jot  or  tittle  less  than 
our  full  manhood  rights.  We  claim  for  ourselves  every 
single  right  that  belongs  to  a  freeborn  American,  political, 
civil,  and  social;  and  until  we  get  these  rights  we  will  never 
cease  to  protest  and  assail  the  ears  of  America.  The  battle 
we  wage  is  not  for  ourselves  alone  but  for  all  true  Americans. 
It  is  a  fight  for  ideals,  lest  this,  our  common  fatherland, 
false  to  its  founding,  become  in  truth  the  land  of  the  thief 
and  the  home  of  the  slave — a  by-word  and  a  hissing 
among  the  nations  for  its  sounding  pretensions  and  pitiful 
accomplishment. 

Never  before  in  the  modern  age  has  a  great  and  civilized 
folk  threatened  to  adopt  so  cowardly  a  creed  in  the  treat 
ment  of  its  fellow-citizens  born  and  bred  on  its  soil.  Stripped 
of  verbiage  and  subterfuge,  and,  in  its  naked  nastiness,  the 
new  American  creed  says:  Fear  to  let  black  men  even  try 


The  Negro's  Solution  297 

to  rise  lest  they  become  the  equals  of  the  white.  And  this 
is  the  land  that  professes  to  follow  Jesus  Christ.  The 
blasphemy  of  such  a  course  is  only  matched  by  its  cowardice. 

In  detail  our  demands  are  clear  and  unequivocal. 

First,  we  would  vote.  With  the  right  to  vote  goes  every 
thing:  freedom,  manhood,  the  honor  of  your  wives,  the 
chastity  of  your  daughters,  the  right  to  work,  and  the  chance 
to  rise,  and  let  no  man  listen  to  those  who  deny  this. 

We  want  full  manhood  suffrage,  and  we  want  it  now, 
henceforth,  and  forever. 

Second.  We  want  discrimination  in  public  accommo 
dation  to  cease.  Separation  in  railway  and  street  cars, 
based  simply  on  race  and  color,  is  un-American,  undemo 
cratic,  and  silly.  We  protest  against  all  such  discrimination. 

Third.  We  claim  the  right  of  freemen  to  walk,  talk, 
and  be  with  them  that  wish  to  be  with  us.  No  man  has  a 
right  to  choose  another  man's  friends,  and  to  attempt  to 
do  so  is  an  impudent  interference  with  the  most  funda 
mental  human  privilege. 

Fourth.  We  want  the  laws  enforced  against  rich  as  well 
as  poor;  against  capitalist  as  well  as  laborer;  against 
white  as  well  as  black.  We  are  not  more  lawless  than  the 
white  race,  we  are  more  often  arrested,  convicted,  and 
mobbed.  We  want  justice  even  for  criminals  and  outlaws. 
We  want  the  Constitution  of  the  country  enforced.  We 
want  Congress  to  take  charge  of  Congressional  elections. 
We  want  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  carried  out  to  the 
letter  and  every  State  disfranchised  in  Congress  which 
attempts  to  disfranchise  its  rightful  voters.  We  want  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment  enforced  and  no  state  allowed  to 
base  its  franchise  simply  on  color. 

The  failure  of  the  Republican  party  in  Congress  at  the 
session  just  closed  to  redeem  its  pledge  of  1904  with  refer 
ence  to  suffrage  conditions  at  the  South  seems  a  plain, 
deliberate,  and  premeditated  breach  of  promise,  and  stamps 
that  party  as  guilty  of  obtaining  votes  under  false  pretence. 
Fifth.  We  want  our  children  educated.  The  school 


298  The  Negro  Problem 

system  in  the  country  districts  of  the  South  is  a  disgrace, 
and  in  few  towns  and  cities  are  the  negro  schools  what  they 
ought  to  be.  We  want  the  National  Government  to  step 
in  and  wipe  out  illiteracy  in  the  South.  Either  the  United 
States  will  destroy  ignorance  or  ignorance  will  destroy  the 
United  States. 

And  when  we  call  for  education  we  mean  real  education. 
We  believe  in  work.  We  ourselves  are  workers,  but  work 
is  not  necessarily  education.  Education  is  the  development 
of  power  and  ideal.  We  want  our  children  trained  as 
intelligent  human  beings  should  be,  and  we  will  fight  for 
all  time  against  any  proposal  to  educate  black  boys  and 
girls  simply  as  servants  and  underlings,  or  simply  for  the 
use  of  other  people.  They  have  a  right  to  know,  to  think, 
to  aspire. 

These  are  some  of  the  chief  things  which  we  want.  How 
shall  we  get  them?  By  voting  where  we  may  vote,  by 
persistent,  unceasing  agitation ;  by  hammering  at  the  truth, 
by  sacrifice  and  work. 

We  do  not  believe  in  violence,  neither  in  the  despised 
violence  of  the  raid  nor  the  lauded  violence  of  the  soldier, 
nor  the  barbarous  violence  of  the  mob,  but  we  do  believe 
in  John  Brown,  in  that  incarnate  spirit  of  justice,  that 
hatred  of  a  lie,  that  willingness  to  sacrifice  money,  reputa 
tion,  and  life  itself  on  the  altar  of  right.  And  here,  on  the 
scene  of  John  Brown's  martyrdom,  we  reconsecrate  our 
selves,  our  honor,  our  property,  to  the  final  emancipation 
of  the  race  which  John  Brown  died  to  make  free. 

Our  enemies,  triumphant  for  the  present,  are  fighting 
the  stars  in  their  courses.  Justice  and  humanity  must 
prevail.  We  live  to  tell  these  dark  brothers  of  ours — 
scattered  in  counsel,  wavering  and  weak — that  no  bribe  of 
money  or  notoriety,  no  promise  of  wealth  or  fame,  is  worth 
the  surrender  of  a  people's  manhood  or  the  loss  of  a  man's 
self-respect.  We  refuse  to  surrender  the  leadership  of  this 
race  to  cowards  and  trucklers.  We  are  men ;  we  will  be 
treated  as  men.  On  this  rock  we  have  planted  our  banners. 


The  Negro's  Solution  299 

We  will  never  give  up,  though  the  trump  of  doom  find  us 
still  fighting. 

And  we  shall  win.  The  past  promised  it,  the  present 
foretells  it.  Thank  God  for  John  Brown !  Thank  God  for 
Garrison  and  Douglass,  Sumner  and  Phillips,  Nat  Turner 
and  Robert  Gould  Shaw,  and  all  the  hallowed  dead  who  died 
for  freedom !  Thank  God  for  all  those  to-day,  few  though 
their  voices  be,  who  have  not  forgotten  the  divine  brother 
hood  of  all  men,  white  and  black,  rich  and  poor,  fortunate 
and  unfortunate! 

We  appeal  to  the  young  men  and  women  of  this  nation,  to 
those  whose  nostrils  are  not  yet  befouled  by  greed  and  snob 
bery  and  racial  narrowness:  Stand  up  for  the  right,  prove 
yourselves  worthy  of  your  heritage,  and,  whether  born  North 
or  South,  dare  to  treat  men  as  men.  Cannot  the  nation  that 
has  absorbed  ten  million  foreigners  into  its  political  life 
without  catastrophe  absorb  ten  million  negro  Americans 
into  that  same  political  life  at  less  cost  than  their  unjust 
and  illegal  exclusion  will  involve? 

Courage,  brothers!  The  battle  for  humanity  is  not  lost 
or  losing.  All  across  the  skies  sit  signs  of  promise  The 
Slav  is  rising  in  his  might,  the  yellow  millions  are  tasting 
liberty,  the  black  Africans  are  writhing  toward  the  light,  and 
everywhere  the  laborer,  with  ballot  in  his  hand,  is  voting 
open  the  gates  of  Opportunity  and  Peace.  The  morning 
breaks  over  blood-stained  hills.  We  must  not  falter,  we 
may  not  shrink.  Above  are  the  everlasting  stars. 

Harpers  Ferry,  W.  Va.,  August  16-19,  1906. 


Disregarding  for  the  moment  the  exaggeration  of  the 
language  contained  in  the  foregoing  manifesto,  its  rhodo- 
montade  fairly  expresses  the  sentiment  of  that  school  of  the 
negro  race  which  is  pressing  for  the  full  recognition  of  its 
legal  and  political  rights,  and  who  can  gainsay  the  justice 
of  its  demands?  Sneer  as  we  may  at  the  contrast  between 
the  negro's  readiness  to  threaten  and  his  ability  to  perform, 


300  The  Negro  Problem 

there  is  certainly  to  be  discerned  in  the  Niagara  Movement 
the  beginning  of  a  process  of  thought  that  with  the  fully 
awakened  negro  mind  portends  trouble  and  danger  in  the 
future. 

•Note  the  scarcely  veiled  menace  of  armed  force  and  the 
call  to  the  other  backward  races  as  examples  of  this  spirit 
of  aspiration,  and  you  will  begin  to  appreciate  the  character 
of  the  thought  now  working  in  the  mind  of  the  despised 
black  man  and  to  comprehend  the  methods  by  which  he 
intends  to  assert  his  equality.  And  further,  is  there  anything 
demanded  in  the  foregoing  circular  beyond  what  may  rea 
sonably  be  claimed  by  any  man  who  finds  himself  possessed, 
even  in  name,  of  the  proud  distinction  of  American  citizenship  ? 

The  allegations  of  the  circular  are  founded  upon  truth, 
and  the  demands  of  the  black  man  are  not  devoid  of  dignity. 
Given  an  increase  of  negro  education  to  be  developed  by 
the  millions  of  the  North  poured  into  the  South  through 
the  efforts  of  the  Southern  Educational  Conference,  com 
bined  with  the  acquisition  of  wealth  and  financial  importance 
based  upon  land-holding  and  industrial  progress,  as  advo 
cated  by  President  Washington,  and  as  the  years  roll  around 
the  power  of  the  Niagara  Movement  and  kindred  negro 
associations  will  make  itself  a  thing  of  serious  import. 

The  circulation  of  documents  of  the  character  of  the  fore 
going  statement  of  the  purposes  of  the  Niagara  Movement 
throughout  the  Southern  States,  combined  with  the  increasing 
ability  of  the  black  men  and  women  of  that  section  to  read 
and  understand  their  meaning,  is  certainly  as  little  calcu 
lated  to  inculcate  in  the  race  the  doctrine  of  passive  sub 
mission  to  present  conditions  as  the  introduction  of  abolition 
literature  was  to  reconcile  the  race  to  its  former  state  of 
slavery. 

Nor  is  the  negro  satisfied  with  the  strength  of  his  own 
position  in  this  respect.  He  is  inclined  to  call  to  his  aid  the 


The  Negro's  Solution  301 

yellow  and  brown  races  of  mankind  in  an  effort  to  establish 
a   comprehensive  fraternal  feeling  with  them,  or,  perhaps 

_,    _.    .      more  accurately,  to  secure  their  assistance  by  the 
The  Prob-  J 

lem  of  the  development  of  a  feeling  of  hostility  on  their  part 
ne*  toward  the  white  man  for  his  asserted  racial 
superiority. 

Frederick  Douglass  was  an  ardent  advocate  not  only  of 
intermarriage  between  white  and  black,  but  also  of  the  es 
tablishment  of  what  he  called  a  "cosmopolitan  nationality," 
and  opposed  with  bitter  eloquence  the  original  Chinese  Ex 
clusion  Act  as  an  unjustifiable  discrimination  against  the 
Mongolian  race. 

In  his  address  at  Montclair,  New  Jersey,  July  4,  1906, 
President  Booker  T.  Washington  took  the  ground  that  this 
country  was  making  a  great  mistake  in  excluding  Chinese 
as  immigrants,  and  asserted  that  it  would  be  better  for  the 
nation  to  allow  them  to  become  members  and  citizens.  His 
words  were  doubtless  inspired  by  the  idea  that  these  retarded 
races  by  combining  their  forces  would  establish  a  solidarity 
of  interest  and  strengthen  each  other  in  the  inevitable  struggle 
which  must  result  from  their  physical  presence,  coupled  with 
their  inability  to  attain  a  respectable  standard  of  American 
citizenship. 

Professor  William  E.  Burghardt  DuBois,  in  his  recent 
work  on  Atlanta  University,  gives  fuller  expression  to  the 
negro's  sentiments  upon  this  important  phase  of  the  subject: 

.  .  .  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  unfortunate  spread  of  anti- 
Negro  prejudice  in  the  North  in  recent  years.  There  is 
no  doubt  of  the  spread  of  the  caste  spirit,  even  beyond 
the  color  line.  This  is  a  national  calamity  and  calls  for 
something  more  than  exclamations  and  sighs  on  our  part. 
It  is  not  surely  too  much  to  ask  that  parents  and  teachers 
of  the  future  citizens  of  the  nation  should  see  to  it  that  they 
themselves  are  broad  enough  and  honest  enough  and  brave 


302  The  Negro  Problem 

enough  to  recognize  human  desert  and  accomplishment 
under  any  human  guise  and  to  teach  their  pupils  and  chil 
dren  to  do  likewise ;  for  this  is  no  passing  difficulty ;  no  merely 
local  problem;  nothing  of  even  simply  national  concern. 
We  have  a  way  in  America  of  wanting  to  be  rid  of  the 
problem.  It  is  not  so  much  a  desire  to  reach  the  best  and 
largest  solution  as  it  is  to  clear  the  board  and  start  a  new 
game.  Of  this,  our  most  sinister  social  problem,  the  future 
status  and  development  of  9,000,000  Negroes,  most  Ameri 
cans  are  simply  tired  and  impatient.  They  do  not  want  to 
solve  it;  they  do  not  want  to  understand  it;  they  want 
simply  to  be  done  with  it  and  hear  the  last  of  it.  Of  all 
possible  attitudes,  this  is  the  most  dangerous,  because  it 
fails  to  realize  the  most  significant  fact  of  the  opening  cen 
tury,  namely,  that  the  Negro  problem  in  America  is  but  a 
local  phase  of  a  world  problem,  "The  problem  of  the 
Twentieth  Century  is  the  problem  of  the  color  line. ' '  Many 
smile  incredulously  at  such  a  proposition,  but  let  us  see. 
The  tendency  of  the  great  nations  of  the  day  is  territorial 
and  political  expansion,  but  in  nearly  every  case  this  has 
brought  them  in  contact  with  darker  peoples,  so  that  we 
have  to-day,  England,  France,  Germany,  Russia,  Italy, 
Portugal,  Holland,  Belgium,  and  the  United  States  in  close 
contact  with  yellow,  brown,  and  black  peoples.  The  older 
idea  was  that  the  whites  would  eventually  displace  the  na 
tive  races  and  inherit  the  earth;  but  this  idea  has  been 
rudely  shaken  in  the  increase  of  the  American  Negroes 
and  of  the  native  races  in  India,  South  Africa,  and  the  West 
Indies,  and  in  the  development  of  South  America.  The 
policy  of  expansion  then  simply  means  world  problems  of 
the  color  line;  the  color  question  enters  into  the  German 
and  English  imperial  politics,  shadows  the  problem  of 
the  Turk,  shook  the  Triple  Alliance  through  Italy's  over 
throw  in  Abyssinia,  covers  the  islands  of  the  sea  from 
Australia  to  Hawaii  and  floods  our  continent  from  Alaska 
to  Patagonia.  Nor  is  this  all.  Since  732,  when  Charles 
Martel  beat  back  the  Saracens  at  Tours,  the  white  races 


The  Negro's  Solution  303 

have  had  the  hegemony,  so  far  that  white  and  civilized 
have  become  synonymous  in  everyday  speech  and  men 
had  wellnigh  forgotten  where  civilization  started.  To 
day  for  the  first  time  in  a  thousand  years  the  great  white 
nation  is  measuring  arms  with  the  yellow  nation,  and  is 
shown  to  be  distinctly  inferior  in  civilization  and  ability. 
Whatever  its  end  may  be,  the  Russo-Japanese  war  is  epoch 
making.  The  foolish  modern  magic  of  the  word  "white" 
is  already  broken,  and  the  color  line  has  been  crossed  in 
modern  times  as  it  was  in  the  great  past;  the  awakening 
of  the  yellow  races  is  certain,  whether  Japan  wins  or  loses ; 
that  the  awakening  of  the  brown  and  black  races  will 
follow  in  time  no  unprejudiced  student  of  history  can 
doubt ;  shall  the  awakening  of  these  sleeping  millions  be  in 
accordance  with  and  aided  by  the  greater  ideals  of  white 
civilization  or  be  in  spite  of  them  and  against  them  ?  This 
is  the  problem  of  the  yellow  peril  and  of  the  color  line,  and 
it  is  the  problem  of  the  American  Negro.  Force  and  fear 
and  repression  have  hitherto  marked  our  attitude  toward 
darker  races.  Shall  this  continue  or  be  replaced  by  free 
dom  and  friendship  and  opening  opportunity?  Atlanta 
University  stands  for  opportunity. 

One  thing,  however,  clearly  appears  despite  this  apparent 
inability  of  the  negro  to  suggest  a  feasible  solution  of  the 
problem,  and  that  is  the  intense  dissatisfaction  of  the  race 
with  its  present  circumstances  and  prospects.  The  one 
absorbing  subject  of  negro  thought  is  the  story  of  past  in 
justice,  present  deprivation,  and  the  prospect  of  unfavorable 
future  conditions.  The  literature  of  the  race  is  upon  its 
prose  side  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  discussion  of  past 
and  present  wrongs,  and  to  expostulation  against  existing 
prejudices,  which  the  writers  apparently  assume  could  be 
overcome  by  a  mere  effort  of  the  will  of  those  entertaining  them. 

Throughout  both  prose  and  poetry  there  is  to  be  found 
a  note  of  indignant  pessimism,  a  vague  remonstrance  against 


304  The  Negro  Problem 

the  white  race  for  its  assumed  attitude  of  supercilious  su 
premacy.  One  cannot  read  the  books  and  magazine  articles 
of  the  leaders  of  negro  thought,  or  listen  to  their  platform 
addresses,  without  realizing  that,  despite  all  disclaimers  to 
the  contrary,  there  dwells  in  the  inner  soul-consciousness 
of  the  writer  or  speaker  a  profound  discontent  as  to  the 
prospects  of  betterment,  and  an  equally  profound  skepticism 
as  to  the  intention  of  the  white  man  ever  to  accord  the  desired 
equality. 

In  an  eloquent  and  scholarly  address  delivered,  before 
the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  in  Carnegie  Hall,  New  York, 
on  February  17,  1907,  Professor  DuBois,  after  pleading  for 
industrial  opportunity  and  educational  assistance  for  his 
race,  said  that  after  all  the  main  demand  of  the  negro,  the 
denial  of  which  was  a  disgrace  to  the  twentieth  century, 
was  for  human  respect,  human  sympathy,  human  brother 
hood.  In  words  of  temperate,  but  none  the  less  indignant, 
protest  he  pictured  the  disadvantages  under  which  his  race 
was  laboring,  and  yet  ventured  to  propose  no  remedy  save 
the  indefinite  suggestion  that  America  could  by  the  applica 
tion  of  the  principles  of  human  brotherhood  give  the  world 
the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  color  line. 

Many  of  the  wiser  and  more  far-seeing  members  of  the 
negro  race  have  for  years  been  constant  in  their  advocacy 
of  a  more  radical  and  enterprising  plan  for  the  extrication 
of  their  fellow  men  and  women  from  their  dependent  and 
humiliating  condition.  But  against  the  mass  of  ignorance 
and  slothful  selfishness  which  hampers  the  efforts  of  these 
ambitious  spirits,  the  proposed  plan  has  made  but  slight 
progress.  We  shall  recur  to  it  later  in  the  work,  where  its 
commendable  features  will  receive  suitable  discussion. 

To  sum  up  the  whole  situation  in  relation  to  the  negro's 
efforts  to  arrive  at  a  solution  of  the  problem,  it  may  be  said 
that  while  the  great  majority  are  simply  groping  for  light 


The  Negro's  Solution  305 

and  leadership,  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  foothold  from  which, 
despite  oppression  and  unfair  discrimination,  advancement 
may  be  effected,  the  leaders  of  the  race  are  beginning  to  unite 
upon  a  general  plan  of  industrial  progression  to  be  followed 
by  a  demand  for  the  recognition  of  their  rights  of  citizenship 
in  the  South  and  for  assistance  in  their  educational  develop 
ment  from  the  wealthy  North.  Content  for  the  moment 
to  protest,  the  negro  reserves  his  future  right  to  demand. 

Having  thus  given  all  practicable  consideration  to  the 
various  solutions  proposed  for  this  great  problem,  and 
having  demonstrated  not  only  the  inadequacy  of  the  currently 
proposed  remedies  to  bring  relief  to  the  situation,  but  also 
their  tendency  to  aggravate  the  difficulty  and  to  increase 
its  dangers,  we  may  now  turn  more  hopefully  to  what  appears 
to  be  the  true  solution  of  the  problem  and  the  only  efficacious 
means  of  extricating  the  American  people  from  the  burdens 
of  racial  contention  imposed  upon  them  by  generations  of 
error  and  indifference. 

Before  entering,  however,  upon  this  phase  of  the  subject, 
let  us  pause  for  a  moment  to  consider  the  solution  proposed 
and  steadfastly  advocated  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  who,  by 
common  acclaim  of  both  races,  must  be  regarded  as  the  one 
man  whose  long  cherished  convictions  upon  the  subject 
are  entitled  to  the  most  respectful  consideration. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ABRAHAM    LINCOLN'S    SOLUTION    OF    THE   PROBLEM 

I  will  say,  then,  that  I  am  not,  nor  ever  have  been,  in  favor  of 
bringing  about  in  any  way  the  social  and  political  equality 
of  the  white  and  black  races — that  I  am  not,  nor  ever  have 
been,  in  favor  of  making  voters  or  jurors  of  negroes,  nor  of 
qualifying  them  to  hold  office,  nor  to  intermarry  with  white 
people;  and  I  will  say  in  addition  to  this  that  there  is  a  physical 
difference  between  the  white  and  black  races  which  I  believe 
will  forever  forbid  the  two  races  living  together  on  terms  of 
social  and  political  equality.  And  inasmuch  as  they  cannot 
so  live,  while  they  do  remain  together  there  must  be  the 
position  of  superior  and  inferior,  and  I,  as  much  as  any  other 
man,  am  in  favor  of  having  the  superior  position  assigned  to 
the  white  race. — ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  vSpeech  at  Charleston, 
111.,  Sept.  18,  1858. 

F)ERHAPS  of  all  men  who  have  given  the  negro  problem 
consideration,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  best  qualified 
to  pass  judgment  upon  the  subject  of  our  discussion.  He 
observed  carefully,  reasoned  with  logical  accuracy,  and  was 
Lincoln's  gifted  with  a  prophetic  vision  which  enabled 
tcfthe*011  kim  to  predict  in  reference  to  this,  as  well  as 
Problem,  to  many  other  subjects,  the  final  outcome  of  the 
complication  of  the  races. 

He  was  of  humble  birth  and  grew  to  manhood  under  the 
most  adverse  circumstances,  beginning  life  in  a  community 
where  negroes  were  numerous,  and  where  slavery  was  upheld 
and  regulated  by  statute.  His  early  years  were  passed  in 
southern  Indiana  and  southern  Illinois  amidst  a  population 
largely  the  outgrowth  of  emigration  from  Virginia  and  the 

306 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          307 

Carolinas,  and  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  Southern  view 
of  the  relations  of  the  negro  to  the  Caucasian.  In  his  boy 
hood  he  made  his  celebrated  trip  upon  the  flotilla  of  rafts  to 
New  Orleans,  and  on  the  way  to  that  city  was  engaged  in 
a  desperate  encounter  with  predatory  negroes.  In  some 
fateful  manner,  from  his  earliest  childhood  to  the  hour  of 
his  death,  he  seems  to  have  been  intimately  associated  with 
the  negro  problem  in  some  of  its  varied  aspects. 

We  are  familiar  with  the  account  of  an  apocryphal  anec 
dote  concerning  his  observation  of  the  slave  pens  of  New 
Orleans  upon  his  first  visit,  followed  by  a  solemn  vow  of 
dedication  to  the  cause  of  the  freedom  of  the  slave  in  much 
the  same  fashion  as  young  Hannibal  is  said  to  have  been 
sworn  upon  the  altar  to  cherish  eternal  enmity  to  Rome. 

Singularly  enough,  in  his  boyish  contribution  of  June  13, 
1836,  announcing  his  candidacy  for  the  Legislature,  his  first 
political  venture,  he  takes  occasion  to  say: 

I  go  for  all  sharing  the  privilege  of  the  government  who 
assist  in  bearing  its  burdens;  consequently  I  go  for  ad 
mitting  all  whites  to  the  right  of  suffrage  who  pay  taxes 
or  bear  arms,  by  no  means  excluding  females. 

A  very  early  announcement  of  his  liberality  of  view  in 
regard  to  the  extension  of  the  franchise,  and  yet  decided 
in  its  exclusion  of  negroes. 

The  next  year,  being  then  a  young  lawyer,  in  Springfield, 
in  an  address  before  the  Young  Men's  Lyceum  of  that  city, 
upon  the  perpetuation  of  our  political  institutions,  he  feels 
moved  to  remark  in  relation  to  an  incident  which  is  of  familiar 
character  in  our  time,  as  follows: 

Turn,  then,  to  that  horror- striking  scene  at  St.  Louis. 
A  single  victim  only  was  sacrificed  there.  This  story  is 
very  short,  and  is  perhaps  the  most  highly  tragic  of  any- 


308  The  Negro  Problem 

thing  of  its  length  that  has  ever  been  witnessed  in  real  life. 
A  mulatto  man  by  the  name  of  Mclntosh  was  seized  in 
the  street,  dragged  to  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  chained  to  a 
tree,  and  actually  burned  to  death ; — and  all  within  a  single 
hour  from  the  time  he  had  been  a  freeman  attending  to  his 
own  business  and  at  peace  with  the  world. 

Such  incidents  were  unusual  at  that  period  and  doubtless 
this  one  impressed  young  Lincoln.  If  a  like  tragic  affair 
should  occur  in  the  South  to-day,  it  would  probably  pass 
without  particular  comment,  merely  counting  as  one  in  the 
roll  of  lynchings  of  the  year. 

Time  passed,  and  Lincoln  was  growing  in  comprehension 
of  the  gravity  of  the  problem.  He  had  been  honored  by 

The  Spring-  election  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Illinois, 
field  Protest.  Toward  the  dose  Q£  the  session  of  ^  the 

subject  of  the  enslavement  of  negroes  having  been  made  a 
topic  of  discussion  in  the  Legislature,  the  following  impressive 
protest  was  placed  upon  the  record : 

Resolutions  upon  the  subject  of  domestic  slavery  having 
passed  both  branches  of  the  General  Assembly  at  its  pre 
sent  session,  the  undersigned  hereby  protest  against  the 
passage  of  the  same. 

They  believe  that  the  institution  of  slavery  is  founded  on 
both  injustice  and  bad  policy,  but  that  the  promulgation 
of  abolition  doctrines  tends  father  to  increase  than  abate 
its  evils. 

They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
has  no  power  under  the  Constitution  to  interfere  with  the 
institution  of  slavery  in  the  different  states. 

They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
has  the  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  abolish  slavery 
in  the"  District  of  Columbia,  but  that  the  power  ought  not 
to  be  exercised,  unless  at  the  request  of  the  people  of  the 
District. 

The  difference  between  these  opinions  and  those  con- 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution        309 

tained  in  the  said  resolutions  is  their  reason  for  entering 
this  protest. 

DAN  STONE, 

A.  LINCOLN, 
Representatives  from  the  County  of  Sangamon. 

There  are  few  things  in  the  history  of  the  movement  for 
the  abolition  of  slavery  more  remarkable  than  the  placing 
of  this  early  protest  of  Lincoln  and  his  obscure  associate 
upon  the  legislative  record.  It  betokens  the  sincere  spirit 
of  the  man,  his  fervent  feeling  in  support  of  freedom,  and 
indicates  that  the  subject  of  negro  slavery  was  never  to  be 
long  absent  from  his  mind. 

In  a  gossipy  letter  of  September  27,  1841,  to  Miss  Mary 
Speed,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  he  makes  the  following 
observation  upon  the  characteristics  of  the  African  race: 

Nothing  of  interest  happened  during  the  passage,  except 
the  vexatious  delays  occasioned  by  the  sand-bars  be 
thought  interesting.  By  the  way,  a  fine  example  was 
presented  on  board  the  boat  for  contemplating  the  effect 
of  condition  upon  human  happiness.  A  gentleman  had 
purchased  twelve  negroes  in  different  parts  of  Kentucky, 
and  was  taking  them  to  a  farm  in  the  South.  They  were 
chained  six  and  six  together.  A  small  iron  clevis  was 
around  the  left  wrist  of  each,  and  this  fastened  to  the  main 
chain  by  a  shorter  one,  at  a  convenient  distance  from 
the  others,  so  that  the  negroes  were  strung  together  like 
so  many  fish  upon  a  trot-line.  In  this  condition  they 
were  being  separated  forever  from  the  scenes  of  their 
childhood,  their  friends,  their  fathers  and  mothers,  and 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  many  of  them  from  their  wives 
and  children,  and  going  into  perpetual  slavery,  where  the 
lash  of  the  master  is  proverbially  more  ruthless  and  un 
relenting  than  any  other  where;  and  yet  amid  all  these 
distressing  circumstances,  as  we  would  think  them,  they 
were  the  most  cheerful  and  apparently  happy  creatures  on 


The  Negro  Problem 

board.  One  whose  offence  for  which  he  had  been  sold  was 
an  over-fondness  for  his  wife,  played  the  fiddle  almost 
continually,  and  the  others  danced,  sang,  cracked  jokes, 
and  played  various  games  with  cards  from  day  to  day. 
How  true  it  is  that  "  God  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn 
lamb,"  or  in  other  words,  that  He  renders  the  worst  of 
human  conditions  tolerable,  while  He  permits  the  best  to 
be  nothing  better  than  tolerable. 

Entertaining  these  sentiments,  it  is  not  in  the  least  singular 
that  when,  in  1848,  he  had  reached  the  prominence  of  mem 
bership  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  he  deemed  it  his 
duty  to  present  a  bill  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  The  elaborate  details  of  this  proposed  act  are 
too  long  for  insertion  here,  but  they  embraced  the  fullest 
provision  for  the  emancipation  of  the  blacks,  with  a  fair 
and  reasonable  compensation  to  their  owners.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  say  that  the  measure  failed  of  passage.  Its 
introduction  is  noted  here  simply  to  display  his  advanced 
ideas  on  the  welfare  of  the  race  and  to  indicate  the  progress 
of  his  development  in  relation  to  the  problem. 

During  all  these  years  of  his  early  political  life,  Lincoln 
was  an  admirer  and  devoted  follower  of  the  great  Henry 
Memorial  Clay,  and  upon  the  death  of  that  renowned 
Address  on  Kentuckian,  in  1852,  he  was  invited  to  address 
y*the  people  of  Illinois  in  the  State  House  at 
Springfield.  In  the  course  of  an  eloquent  and  appreciative 
memorial  address  he  embraced  the  opportunity  to  say,  in 
connection  with  the  well-known  sentiments  of  the  eminent 
statesman  of  whom  he  was  speaking: 

The  American  Colonization  Society  was  organized  in 
1816.  Mr.  Clay,  though  not  its  projector,  was  one  of  its 
earliest  members;  and  he  died,  as  for  many  preceding 
years  he  had  been,  its  president.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
cherished  objects  of  his  direct  care  and  consideration, 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          311 

and  the  association  of  his  name  with  it  has  probably  been 
its  very  greatest  collateral  support.  He  considered  it  no 
demerit  in  the  society  that  it  tended  to  relieve  the  slave 
holders  from  the  troublesome  presence  of  the  free  negroes ; 
but  this  was  far  from  being  its  whole  merit  in  his  estima 
tion.  In  the  same  speech  from  which  we  have  quoted  he 
says:  "There  is  a  moral  fitness  in  the  idea  of  returning  to 
Africa  her  children,  whose  ancestors  have  been  torn  from 
her  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  fraud  and  violence.  Trans 
planted  in  a  foreign  land,  they  will  carry  back  to  their 
native  soil  the  rich  fruits  of  religion,  civilization,  law  and 
liberty.  May  it  not  be  one  of  the  great  designs  of  the  Ruler 
of  the  universe,  whose  ways  are  often  inscrutable  by  short 
sighted  mortals,  thus  to  transform  an  original  crime  into  a 
signal  blessing  to  that  most  unfortunate  portion  of  the 
globe?"  This  suggestion  of  the  possible  ultimate  redemp 
tion  of  the  African  race  and  African  continent  was  made 
twenty-five  years  ago.  Every  succeeding  year  has  added 
strength  to  the  hope  of  its  realization.  May  it  indeed  be 
realized!  Pharaoh's  country  was  cursed  with  plagues, 
a,nd  his  hosts  were  lost  in  the  Red  Sea,  for  striving  to  retain 
a  captive  people  who  had  already  served  them  more  than 
four  hundred  years.  May  like  disasters  never  befall  us! 
If,  as  the  friends  of  colonization  hope,  the  present  and  com 
ing  generations  of  our  countrymen  shall  by  any  means 
succeed  in  freeing  our  land  from  the  dangerous  presence 
of  slavery,  and  at  the  same  time  in  restoring  a  captive 
people  to  their  long-lost  fatherland  with  bright  prospects 
for  the  future,  and  this  too  so  gradually  that  neither  races 
nor  individuals  shall  have  suffered  by  the  change,  it  will 
indeed  be  a  glorious  consummation.  And  if  to  such  a  con 
summation  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Clay  shall  have  contributed, 
it  will  be  what  he  most  ardently  wished,  and  none  of  his 
labors  will  have  been  more  valuable  to  his  country  and  his 
kind. 

And  yet  he  was  but  at  the  beginning  of  the  path.     The 


3J2  The  Negro  Problem 

anti-slavery  discussion  became  more  impassioned,  the  great 
never-ending  debate  upon  the  negro  question  was  on, 
Deb  and  October  16,  1854,  in  a  powerful  speech 

with  at  Peoria,  Illinois,  in  reply  to  Senator  Stephen 

ug  as*  A.  Douglas  and  in  repelling  the  suggestion  that 
he  entertained  a  feeling  of  animosity  toward  the  Southern 
people,  Lincoln  used  the  following  language: 

When  Southern  people  tell  us  they  are  no  more  respon 
sible  for  the  origin  of  slavery  than  we  are,  I  acknowledge 
the  fact.  When  it  is  said  that  the  institution  exists,  and 
that  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  rid  of  it  in  any  satisfactory 
way,  I  can  understand  and  appreciate  the  saying.  I 
surely  will  not  blame  them  for  not  doing  what  I  should 
not  know  how  to  do  myself.  If  all  earthly  power  were  given 
me,  I  should  not  know  what  to  do  as  to  the  existing  institu 
tion.  My  first  impulse  would  be  to  free  all  the  slaves,  and 
send  them  to  Liberia,  to  their  own  native  land.  But  a 
moment's  reflection  would  convince  me  that  whatever  of 
high  hope  (as  I  think  there  is)  there  may  be  in  this  in  the 
long  run,  its  sudden  execution  is  impossible.  If  they  were 
all  landed  there  in  a  day,  they  would  all  perish  in  the  next 
ten  days;  and  there  are  not  surplus  shipping  and  surplus 
money  enough  to  carry  them  there  in  many  times  ten 
days.  What  then?  Free  them  all,  and  keep  them  among 
us  as  underlings  ?  Is  it  quite  certain  that  this  betters  their 
condition  ?  I  think  I  would  not  hold  one  in  slavery  at  any 
rate,  yet  the  point  is  not  clear  enough  for  me  to  denounce 
people  upon.  What  next?  Free  them,  and  make  them 
politically  and  socially  our  equals.  My  own  feelings  will 
not  admit  of  this,  and  if  mine  would,  we  well  know  that 
those  of  the  great  mass  of  whites  will  not.  Whether  this 
feeling  accords  with  justice  and  sound  judgment  is  not  the 
sole  question,  if  indeed  it  is  any  part  of  it.  A  universal 
feeling,  whether  well  or  ill  founded,  cannot  be  safely  dis 
regarded.  We  cannot,  then,  make  them  equals.  It  does 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          313 

seem  to  me  that  systems  of  gradual  emancipation  might  be 
adopted,  but  for  their  tardiness  in  this  I  will  not  under 
take  to  judge  our  brethren  of  the  South. 

It  was  not  merely  in  public  that  Lincoln  found  occasion 
to  express  his  sentiments  upon  the  subject.  We  find  under 
date  of  August  15,  1855,  in  a  letter  to  George  Robertson, 
Esquire,  of  Lexington,  Kentucky,  on  the  general  subject  of 
politics  of  the  period,  this  further  expression  of  his  thought: 

That  spirit  which  desired  the  peaceful  extinction  of 
slavery  has  itself  become  extinct  with  the  occasion  and 
the  men  of  the  Revolution.  Under  the  impulse  of  that 
occasion,  nearly  half  the  States  adopted  systems  of  eman 
cipation  at  once,  and  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  not  a  single 
State  has  done  the  like  since.  So  far  as  peaceful  voluntary 
emancipation  is  concerned,  the  condition  of  the  negro  slave 
in  America,  scarcely  less  terrible  to  the  contemplation  of  a 
free  mind,  is  now  as  fixed  and  hopeless  of  change  for  the 
better  as  that  of  the  lost  souls  of  the  finally  impenitent. 
The  Autocrat  of  All  the  Russias  will  resign  his  crown  and 
proclaim  his  subjects  free  republicans  sooner  than  will  our 
American  masters  voluntarily  give  up  their  slaves. 

Our  political  problem  now  is,  "Can  we  as  a  nation  con 
tinue  together  permanently — forever — half  slave  and  half 
free?"  The  problem  is  too  mighty  for  me — may  God, 
in  His  mercy,  superintend  the  solution.  Your  much 
obliged  friend  and  humble  servant, 

A.  LINCOLN. 

This  passage  is  peculiarly  significant,  as  it  gives  pathetic 
indication  of  the  concern  which  he  entertained  as  to  the 
coming  events  in  which  he  was  soon  to  bear  so  momentous 
a  part.  In  less  than  ten  years  from  the  writing  of  this  letter, 
one  important  step,  indeed,  had  been  taken  toward  the 
solution  of  the  problem  which  he  declared  to  be  too  mighty 
for  him.  Technically,  freedom  for  the  slave  had  been 


3 14  The  Negro  Problem 

achieved,  but  at  the  cost  of  his  invaluable  life,  sacrificed  as 
the  martyr  spirit  of  the  cause  which  is  yet  likely  to  demand 
further  victims. 

Time  ran  along,  and  on  June  26,  1857,  again  in  debate 
with  his  redoubtable  political  antagonist,  Senator  Douglas, 
he  enunciates  the  following  sentiment: 

There  is  a  natural  disgust  in  the  minds  of  nearly  all 
white  people  at  the  idea  of  an  indiscriminate  amalgamation 
of  the  white  and  black  races;  and  Judge  Douglas  evidently 
is  basing  his  chief  hope  upon  the  chances  of  his  being  able 
to  appropriate  the  benefit  of  this  disgust  to  himself.  If 
he  can,  by  much  drumming  and  repeating,  fasten  the  odium 
of  that  idea  upon  his  adversaries,  he  thinks  he  can  struggle 
through  the  storm.  He  therefore  clings  to  this  hope  as  a 
drowning  man  to  the  last  plank.  He  makes  an  occasion 
for  lugging  it  in  from  the  opposition  to  the  Dred  Scott 
decision.  He  finds  the  Republicans  insisting  that  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  includes  ALL  men,  black  as 
well  as  white,  and  forthwith  he  boldly  denies  that  it  in 
cludes  negroes  at  all,  and  proceeds  to  argue  gravely  that 
all  who  contend  it  does,  do  so  only  because  they  want  to 
vote,  and  eat,  and  sleep,  and  marry  with  negroes!  He 
will  have  it  that  they  cannot  be  consistent  else.  Now  I 
protest  against  the  counterfeit  logic  which  concludes  that, 
because  I  do  not  want  a  black  woman  for  a  slave  I  must 
necessarily  want  her  for  a  wife.  I  need  not  have  her  for 
either.  I  can  just  leave  her  alone.  In  some  respects  she 
certainly  is  not  my  equal ;  but  in  her  natural  right  to  eat  the 
bread  she  earns  with  her  own  hands  without  asking  leave 
of  any  one  else,  she  is  my  equal,  and  the  equal  of  all  others. 

And  in  the  same  speech  he  further  says: 

Such  separation,  if  ever  effected  at  all,  must  be  effected 
by  colonization ;  and  no  political  party,  as  such,  is  now  doing 
anything  directly  for  colonization.  Party  operations  at 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          315 

present  only  favor  or  retard  colonization  incidentally. 
The  enterprise  is  a  difficult  one;  but  "  where  there  is  a  will 
there  is  a  way,"  and  what  colonization  needs  most  is  a 
hearty  will.  Will  springs  from  the  two  elements  of  moral 
sense  and  self-interest.  Let  us  be  brought  to  believe  it  is 
morally  right,  and  at  the  same  time  favorable  to,  or  at 
least  not  against,  our  interest  to  transfer  the  African  to  his 
native  clime,  and  we  shall  find  a  way  to  do  it,  however 
great  the  task  may  be.  The  children  of  Israel,  to  such 
numbers  as  to  include  four  hundred  thousand  fighting  men, 
went  out  of  Egyptian  bondage  in  a  body. 

There  soon  follows  the  famous  joint  debate  with  Douglas, 
and  in  Lincoln's  opening  speech  at  Charleston,  Illinois, 
September  18,  1858,  are  to  be  found  the  words  quoted  at 
the  head  of  this  chapter.  They  are  to  be  given  special  em 
phasis  because  with  but  very  little  variation  of  phraseology 
we  find  them  frequently  repeated  in  his  speeches  during  the 
next  two  or  three  years.  This  was  no  casual  expression  of  a 
transitory  thought.  The  fact  that  in  nearly  the  same  lan 
guage  the  idea  was  substantially  repeated  on  various  oc 
casions  indicates  that  it  was  carefully  thought  out  and  reduced 
to  the  written  word,  and  may  be  considered  as  the  mature 
expression  of  Lincoln's  views  upon  the  future  relative  po 
sitions  of  the  white  and  black  races  in  this  country.  Thus 
much  for  the  theoretical  discussion  of  his  convictions  on  the 
subject  of  the  future  of  the  negro. 

By  the  Presidential  election  of  1860,  he  was  providentially 
called  upon  to  take  the  lead  in  devising  practical  measures 
Lincoln'  bearing  upon  the  position  of  the  African  race, 
First  and  we  find  in  him  no  hesitancy  in  assuming 

this  burden.  In  his  first  annual  message,  De 
cember,  1 86 1,  he  gives  renewed  expression  to  his  views  upon 
the  permanent  solution  of  the  problem  in  the  following 
language,  this  being  in  connection  with  a  recent  act  of 


316  The  Negro  Problem 

Congress  passed  for  the  purpose  of  liberating  negroes  be 
longing  to  persons  in  arms  against  the  government: 

In  such  case  I  recommend  that  Congress  provide  for 
accepting  such  persons  from  such  States,  according  to 
some  mode  of  valuation,  in  lieu,  pro  tanto,  of  direct  taxes, 
or  upon  some  other  plan  to  be  agreed  on  with  such  States 
respectively;  that  such  persons,  on  such  acceptance  by 
the  General  Government,  be  at  once  deemed  free;  and  that, 
in  any  event,  steps  be  taken  for  colonizing  both  classes 
(or  the  one  first  mentioned  if  the  other  shall  not  be  brought 
into  existence)  at  some  place  or  places  in  a  climate  con 
genial  to  them.  It  might  be  well  to  consider,  too,  whether 
the  free  colored  people  already  in  the  United  States  could 
not,  so  far  as  individuals  may  desire,  be  included  in  such 
colonization. 

To  carry  out  the  plan  of  colonization  may  involve  the 
acquiring  of  territory,  and  also  the  appropriation  of  money 
beyond  that  to  be  expended  in  the  territorial  acquisition. 
Having  practised  the  acquisition  of  territory  for  nearly 
sixty  years,  the  question  of  constitutional  power  to  do  so 
is  no  longer  an  open  one  with  us.  The  power  was  ques 
tioned  at  first  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  who,  however,  in  the 
purchase  of  Louisiana,  yielded  his  scruples  on  the  plea  of 
great  expediency.  If  it  be  said  that  the  only  legitimate 
object  of  acquiring  territory  is  to  furnish  homes  for  white 
men,  this  measure  effects  that  object;  for  the  emigration 
of  colored  men  leaves  additional  room  for  white  men 
remaining  or  coming  here.  Mr.  Jefferson,  however, 
placed  the  importance  of  procuring  Louisiana  more  on 
political  and  commercial  grounds  than  on  providing  room 
for  population. 

On  this  whole  proposition,  including  the  appropria 
tion  of  money  with  the  acquisition  of  territory,  does  not 
the  expediency  amount  to  absolute  necessity — that 
without  which  the  government  itself  cannot  be  perpet 
uated  ? 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          317 

The  subject  of  colonization  of  the  negro  appears  to  have 
been  ever  present  in  his  thought.  On  April  16,  1862,  in 
approving  the  act  abolishing  slavery  in  the  District  of  Co 
lumbia,  he  announced  to  Congress  his  gratification  that  the 
two  principles  of  compensation  and  colonization  are  both 
recognized  and  practically  applied  in  the  act;  thus  never 
allowing  an  opportunity  to  pass  unheeded  by  which  he  could 
bring  the  subject  of  the  removal  of  the  negro  from  the  country 
to  the  attention  of  the  people. 

On  July  12,  1862,  as  President,  he  addressed  to  the  mem 
bers  of  Congress  from  the  border  states  an  appeal  intended 
to  secure  their  co-operation  in  bringing  about  compensated 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  their  respective  states,  in 
which  he  employed  the  following  language: 

I  do  not  spea.k  of  emancipation  at  once,  but  of  a  decision 
at  once  to  emancipate  gradually.  Room  in  South  America 
can  be  obtained  cheaply  and  in  abundance,  and  when 
numbers  shall  be  large  enough  to  be  company  and  en 
couragement  for  one  another,  the  freed  people  will  not  be 
so  reluctant  to  go. 

We  now  come  to  consider  a  most  remarkable  expression 
of  Lincoln's  views  on  the  race  problem,  one  which  can 
readily  be  found  in  any  edition  of  his  works,  and 
Address  to  which  is  commended  to  the  minds  of  all  thinking 
Negro  Men.  peOpjej  more  especially  to  those  of  the  negro  race, 
in  the  present  hour  of  doubt  and  discouragement.  It  appears 
that  on  August  14,  1862,  he  gave  audience  to  a  committee 
of  negro  men  at  the  White  House.  They  were  introduced 
by  the  Reverend  J.  Mitchell,  Commissioner  of  Emigration, 
when  E.  M.  Thomas  remarked  that  they  were  there  by 
invitation  to  hear  what  the  Executive  had  to  say  to  them, 
thus  indicating  that  the  President  had  sought  the  opportunity 
to  give  expression  to  his  views  upon  their  future  welfare. 
This  followed: 


318  The  Negro  Problem 

Having  all  been  seated,  the  President,  after  a  few  pre 
liminary  observations,  informed  them  that  a  sum  of  money 
had  been  appropriated  by  Congress,  and  placed  at  his 
disposition,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  colonization  in 
some  country  of  the  people,  or  a  portion  of  them,  of  African 
descent,  thereby  making  it  his  duty,  as  it  had  for  a  long 
time  been  his  inclination,  to  favor  that  cause.  And  why, 
he  asked,  should  the  people  of  your  race  be  colonized,  and 
where?  Why  should  they  leave  this  country?  This  is, 
perhaps,  the  first  question  for  consideration.  You  and 
we  are  different  races.  We  have  between  us  a  broader 
difference  than  exists  between  almost  any  other  two  races. 
Whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  I  need  not  discuss;  but 
this  physical  difference  is  a  great  disadvantage  to  us  both, 
as  I  think.  Your  race  suffer  very  greatly,  many  of  them, 
by  living  among  us,  while  ours  suffer  from  your  presence. 
In  a  word,  we  suffer  on  each  side.  If  this  is  admitted,  it 
affords  a  reason,  at  least,  why  we  should  be  separated. 
You  here  are  freemen,  I  suppose? 

A  voice:     Yes,  sir. 

The  President:  Perhaps  you  have  long  been  free,  or 
all  your  lives.  Your  race  is  suffering,  in  my  judgment, 
the  greatest  wrong  inflicted  on  any  people.  But  even 
when  you  cease  to  be  slaves  you  are  yet  far  removed  from 
being  placed  on  an  equality  with  the  white  race.  You  are 
cut  off  from  many  of  the  advantages  which  the  other  race 
enjoys.  The  aspiration  of  men  is  to  enjoy  equality  with 
the  best  when  free,  but  on  this  broad  continent  not  a 
single  man  of  your  race  is  made  the  equal  of  a  single  man 
of  ours.  Go  where  you  are  treated  the  best,  and  the  ban 
is  still  upon  you.  I  do  not  propose  to  discuss  this,  but  to 
present  it  as  a  fact  with  which  we  have  to  deal.  I  cannot 
alter  it  if  I  would.  We  look  to  our  condition.  Owing 
to  the  existence  of  the  two  races  on  this  continent,  I  need 
not  recount  to  you  the  effects  upon  white  men  growing  out 
of  the  institution  of  slavery. 

I  believe  in  its  general  evil  effects  on  the  white  race. 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution         319 

See  our  present  condition — the  country  engaged  in  war — 
our  white  men  cutting  one  another's  throats — none  know 
ing  how  far  it  will  extend — and  then  consider  what  we 
know  to  be  the  truth.  But  for  your  race  among  us  there 
could  not  be  war,  although  many  men  engaged  on  either 
side  do  not  care  for  you  one  way  or  the  other.  Neverthe 
less,  I  repeat,  without  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  the 
colored  race  as  a  basis,  the  war  could  not  have  an  existence. 
It  is  better  for  us  both,  therefore,  to  be  separated.  I  know 
that  there  are  freemen  among  you  who,  even  if  they 
could  better  their  condition,  are  not  as  much  inclined  to 
go  out  of  the  country  as  those  who,  being  slaves,  could 
obtain  their  freedom  on  this  condition.  I  suppose  one  of 
the  principal  difficulties  in  the  way  of  colonization  is  that 
the  free  colored  man  cannot  see  that  his  comfort  would  be 
advanced  by  it.  You  may  believe  that  you  can  live  in 
Washington,  or  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  the  re 
mainder  of  your  life  as  easily,  perhaps  more  so,  than  you 
can  in  any  foreign  country;  and  hence  you  may  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  you  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  idea  of 
going  to  a  foreign  country. 

This  is  (I  speak  in  no  unkind  sense)  an  extremely  selfish 
view  of  the  case.  You  ought  to  do  something  to  help  those 
who  are  not  so  fortunate  as  yourselves.  There  is  an  un 
willingness  on  the  part  of  our  people,  harsh  as  it  may  be, 
for  you  free  colored  people  to  remain  with  us.  Now,  if 
you  could  give  a  start  to  the  white  people',  you  would  open 
a  wide  door  for  many  to  be  made  free.  If  we  deal  with 
those  who  are  not  free  at  the  beginning,  and  whose  intel 
lects  are  clouded  by  slavery,  we  have  very  poor  material 
to  start  with.  If  intelligent  colored  men,  such  as  are  before 
me,  would  move  in  this  matter,  much  might  be  accom 
plished.  It  is  exceedingly  important  that  we  have  men 
at  the  beginning  capable  of  thinking  as  white  men,  and  not 
those  who  have  been  systematically  oppressed.  There 
is  much  to  encourage  you.  For  the  sake  of  your  race  you 
should  sacrifice  something  of  your  present  comfort  for  the 


320  The  Negro  Problem 

purpose  of  being  as  grand  in  that  respect  as  the  white  peo 
ple.  It  is  a  cheering  thought  throughout  life,  that  some 
thing  can  be  done  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  those  who 
have  been  subject  to  the  hard  usages  of  the  world.  It  is 
difficult  to  make  a  man  miserable  while  he  feels  he  is 
worthy  of  himself  and  claims  kindred  to  the  great  God  who 
made  him.  In  the  American  Revolutionary  war  sacrifices 
were  made  by  men  engaged  in  it,  but  they  were  cheered  by 
the  future.  General  Washington  himself  endured  greater 
physical  hardships  than  if  he  had  remained  a  British  sub 
ject,  yet  he  was  a  happy  man  because  he  was  engaged  in 
benefiting  his  race,  in  doing  something  for  the  children 
of  his  neighbors,  having  none  of  his  own. 

The  colony  of  Liberia  has  been  in  existence  a  long  time. 
In  a  certain  sense  it  is  a  success.  The  old  President  of 
Liberia,  Roberts,  has  just  been  with  me — the  first  time  I 
ever  saw  him.  He  says  they  have  within  the  bounds  of 
that  colony  between  three  and  four  hundred  thousand 
people,  or  more  than  in  some  of  our  old  States,  such  as 
Rhode  Island  or  Delaware,  or  in  some  of  our  newer  St 
and  less  than  in  some  of  our  larger  ones.  They  are  r>Oo  all 
American  colonists  or  their  descendants.  Something  less 
than  12,000  have  been  sent  thither  from  this  country. 
Many  of  the  original  settlers  have  died;  yet,  like  people 
elsewhere,  their  offspring  outnumber  those  deceased.  The 
question  is,  if  the  colored  people  are  persuaded  to  go  any 
where,  why  not  there  ? 

One  reason  for  unwillingness  to  do  so,  is  that  some  of 
you  would  rather  remain  within  reach  of  the  country  of  your 
nativity.  I  do  not  know  how  much  attachment  you  may 
have  toward  our  race.  It  does  not  strike  me  that  you  have 
the  greatest  reason  to  love  them.  But  still  you  are  attached 
to  them  at  all  events. 

The  place  I  am  thinking  about  for  a  colony  is  in  Central 
America.  It  is  nearer  to  us  than  Liberia — not  much  more 
than  one-fourth  as  far  as  Liberia,  and  within  seven  days' 
run  by  steamers.  Unlike  Liberia,  it  is  a  great  line  of  travel 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          321 

— it  is  a  highway.  The  country  is  a  very  excellent  one  for 
any  people,  and  with  great  natural  resources  and  advantages, 
and  especially  because  of  the  similarity  of  climate  with  your 
native  soil,  thus  being  suited  to  your  physical  condition. 
The  particular  place  I  have  in  view  is  to  be  a  great  highway 
from  the  Atlantic  or  Caribbean  Sea  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  this  particular  place  has  all  the  advantages  for  a  colony. 
On  both  sides  there  are  harbors — among  the  finest  in  the 
world.  Again,  there  is  evidence  of  very  rich  coal  mines. 
A  certain  amount  of  coal  is  valuable  in  any  country.  Why 
I  attach  so  much  importance  to  coal  is,  it  will  afford  an 
opportunity  to  the  inhabitants  for  immediate  employment 
till  they  get  ready  to  settle  permanently  in  their  homes. 
If  you  take  colonists  where  there  is  no  good  landing,  there 
is  a  bad  show;  and  so  where  there  is  nothing  to  cultivate 
and  of  which  to  make  a  farm.  But  if  something  is  started 
so  that  you  can  get  your  daily  bread  as  soon  as  you  reach 
there,  it  is  a  great  advantage.  Coal  land  is  the  best  thing 
I  know  of  with  which  to  commence  an  enterprise. 

T<"  return — you  have  been  talked  to  upon  this  subject, 
ana  .  tlq  that  a  speculation  is  intended  by  gentlemen 
who  hkye  an  interest  in  the  country,  including  the  coal 
mines.  We  have  been  mistaken  all  our  lives  if  we  do  not 
know  whites,  as  well  as  blacks,  look  to  their  self-interest. 
Unless  among  those  deficient  of  intellect,  everybody  you 
trade  with  makes  something.  You  meet  with  these  things 
here  and  everywhere.  If  such  persons  have  what  will  be 
an  advantage  to  them,  the  question  is,  whether  it  cannot 
be  made  of  advantage  to  you?  You  are  intelligent,  and 
know  that  success  does  not  so  much  depend  on  external 
help  as  on  self-reliance.  Much,  therefore,  depends  upon 
yourselves.  As  to  the  coal  mines,  I  think  I  see  the  means 
available  for  your  self-reliance.  I  shall,  if  I  get  a  sufficient 
number  of  you  engaged,  have  provision  made  that  you  shall 
not  be  wronged.  If  you  will  engage  in  the  enterprise,  I 
will  spend  some  of  the  money  intrusted  to  me.  I  am  not 
sure  you  will  succeed.  The  government  may  lose  the 


322  The  Negro  Problem 

money;  but  we  cannot  succeed  unless  we  try;  and  we  think, 
with  care,  we  can  succeed.  The  political  affairs  in  Central 
America  are  not  in  quite  as  satisfactory  a  condition  as  I 
wish.  There  are  contending  factions  in  that  quarter;  but, 
it  is  true,  all  the  factions  are  agreed  alike  on  the  subject  of 
colonization,  and  want  it,  and  are  more  generous  than  we 
are  here. 

To  your  colored  race  they  have  no  objection.  I  would 
endeavor  to  have  you  made  the  equals,  and  have  the  best 
assurance  that  you  should  be,  the  equals  of  the  best. 

The  practical  thing  I  want  to  ascertain  is,  whether 
I  can  get  a  number  of  able-bodied  men,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  who  are  willing  to  go  when  I  present  evidence 
of  encouragement  and  protection.  Could  I  get  a  hundred 
tolerably  intelligent  men,  with  their  wives  and  children, 
and  able  to  "cut  their  own  fodder,"  so  to  speak?  Can  I 
have  fifty?  If  I  could  find  twenty-five  able-bodied  men, 
with  a  mixture  of  women  and  children, — good  things  in  the 
family  relation,  I  think, — I  could  make  a  successful  com 
mencement.  I  want  you  to  let  me  know  whether  this  can 
be  done  or  not.  This  is  the  practical  part  of  my  wish  to 
see  you.  These  are  subjects  of  very  great  importance — 
worthy  of  a  month's  study,  instead  of  a  speech  delivered 
in  an  hour.  I  ask  you,  then,  to  consider  seriously,  not 
pertaining  to  yourselves  merely,  nor  for  your  race  and  ours 
for  the  present  time,  but  as  one  of  the  things,  if  successfully 
managed,  for  the  good  of  mankind — not  confined  to  the 
present  generation,  but  as 

From  age  to  age  descends  the  lay 

To  millions  yet  to  be, 
Till  far  its  echoes  roll  away 

Into  eternity. 

The  chairman  of  the  delegation  briefly  replied  that  they 
would  hold  a  consultation,  and  in  a  short  time  give  an 
answer. 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          323 

The  President  said:  Take  your  full  time — no  hurry  at 
all. 

The  delegation  then  withdrew. 

There  is  something  peculiarly  graphic  and  instructive 
in  the  account  of  this  interview.  It  is  presented  in  full  as 
the  most  complete  exposition  of  Lincoln's  deliberate  conclu 
sions  upon  the  question.  We  can  picture  to  ourselves  the 
kindly  figure  of  the  gaunt,  haggard  President  in  this  hour  of 
the  nation's  peril,  oppressed  and  borne  down  by  the  weight 
of  his  official  cares  and  duties,  surrounded  by  the  wondering 
black  men,  giving  expression  to  these  far-reaching,  prophetic 
views.  The  conclusion  is  in  itself  characteristic. 

The  chairman  of  the  delegation  said  that  after  consultation 
they  would  give  an  answer.  None  ever  came.  What 
answer  could  they  devise  to  meet  an  argument  in  itself 
unanswerable  ? 

Events  hurried  along.  Those  were  indeed  days  of  test 
and  trial.  Shortly  after  the  lapse  of  a  month  from  the 
Lincoln's  foregoing  interview,  Lincoln  issued  his  world 
Coloniza^  famous  Emancipation  Proclamation,  in  which 
tion.  he  once  more  embodied  his  views  on  the  solution 

of  the  problem  by  stating  in  the  second  paragraph: 
r 

And  that  the  effort  to  colonize  persons  of  African  descent 
with  their  consent  upon  this  continent  or  elsewhere,  with 
the  previously  obtained  consent  of  the  governments  exist 
ing  there,  will  be  continued. 

Again,  in  his  second  annual  message,  December  i,  1862, 
he  recurs  to  the  subject  as  follows : 

Applications  have  been  made  to  me  by  many  free  Ameri 
cans  of  African  descent  to  favor  their  emigration,  with  a 
view  to  such  colonization  as  was  contemplated  in  recent 
acts  of  Congress.  Other  parties  at  home  and  abroad — 


324  The  Negro  Problem 

some  from  interested  motives,  others  upon  patriotic  con 
siderations,  and  still  others  influenced  by  philanthropic 
sentiments — have  suggested  similar  measures;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  several  of  the  Spanish- American  republics 
have  protested  against  the  sending  of  such  colonies  to  their 
respective  territories.  Under  these  circumstances  I  have 
declined  to  move  any  such  colony  to  any  state  without 
first  obtaining  the  consent  of  its  government,  with  an  agree 
ment  on  its  part  to  receive  and  protect  such  emigrants  in 
all  the  rights  of  freemen;  and  I  have  at  the  same  time 
offered  to  the  several  states  situated  within  the  tropics, 
or  having  colonies  there,  to  negotiate  with  them,  subject 
to  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  favor  the 
voluntary  emigration  of  persons  of  that  class  to  their  re 
spective  territories,  upon  conditions  which  shall  be  equal, 
just  and  humane.  Liberia  and  Hayti  are  as  yet  the  only 
countries  to  which  colonists  of  African  descent  from  here 
could  go  with  certainty  of  being  received  and  adopted  as 
citizens;  and  I  regret  to  say  such  persons  contemplating 
colonization  do  not  seem  so  willing  to  migrate  to  those 
countries  as  to  some  others,  nor  so  willing  as  I  think  their 
interest  demands.  I  believe,  however,  opinion  among  them 
in  this  respect  is  improving ;  and  that  ere  long  there  will  be 
an  augmented  and  considerable  migration  to  both  these 
countries  from  the  United  States. 

In  this  same  message,  after  full  discussion  of  the  subject, 
and  after  using  the  following  language — 

Our  strife  pertains  to  ourselves — to  the  passing  genera 
tions  of  men;  and  it  can  without  convulsion  be  hushed 
forever  with  the  passing  of  one  generation— 

he  proposed  the  following  amendment  to  the  United  States 
Constitution: 
CONGRESS    MAY    APPROPRIATE   MONEY  AND    OTHERWISE 

PROVIDE    FOR    COLONIZING    FREE    COLORED    PERSONS,    WITH 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          325 

THEIR  OWN  CONSENT,    AT   ANY    PLACE    OR    PLACES  WITHOUT 

THE  UNITED  STATES. 

And  in  further  detailed  discussion  of  this  project,  he 
elaborately  argues,  demonstrating,  with  an  almost  mathe 
matical  accuracy,  the  fact  that  the  removal  of  the  African 
people  from  the  country  would  at  once  inure  to  their  benefit 
and  to  the  benefit  of  the  laboring  people,  North  and  South. 
If  any  number  of  persons  are  still  disposed  to  question  the 
benefits  which  would  be  derived  by  the  working  people  of 
the  country  at  the  present  time  from  the  adoption  of  Lincoln's 
solution,  they  are  commended  to  a  diligent  reading  of  the 
President's  message  of  1862. 

His  labors  had  not  entirely  failed  of  effect.  Such  en 
thusiasm  as  his  is  very  contagious,  and  even  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  trying  circumstances  an  effort  was  made  to  realize 
his  aspirations. 

Space  does  not  permit  a  discussion  of  the  abortive  attempt 
to  make  a  beginning  of  the  deportation  of  the  African  race. 
The  pitiful  sum  of  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  dollars 
was  spent  for  the  purpose,  an  agreement  was  made  with 
presumably  respectable  people  by  which  a  colony  was  to  be 
established  at  He  a  Vache,  within  the  Republic  of  Hayti,  and 
a  Bureau  of  Emigration  was  organized  in  the  Department  of 
the  Interior.  Six  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  appropriated 
for  the  purpose,  a  sum  which,  considering  the  magnitude 
of  the  undertaking,  appears  to  have  been  ludicrously  in 
adequate.  An  attempt  also  was  made  to  establish  a  colony 
in  the  Republic  of  Colombia,  but  the  government  of  that 
country  was  found  to  be  hostile  to  the  enterprise,  and  both 
projects  failed,  for  lack  of  support. 

Lincoln  expressed  his  deep  regret  at  the  failure  of  his 
efforts,  but  nothing  seems  to  have  caused  him  to  relinquish 
hope  of  the  final  successful  outcome  of  his  plan. 


326  The  Negro  Problem 

As  the  end  of  the  war  drew  near,  the  more  pressing  civil 
and  military  problems  appear  temporarily  to  have  diverted 
Lincoln's  mind  from  his  cherished  plan  of  colonization. 
But  as  the  continued  success  of  the  Union  arms,  in  the  spring 
of  1865,  brought  the  assurance  of  a  speedy  termination  of 
the  conflict,  the  gravity  cf  the  problems  incident  to  the 
restoration  of  the  national  authority  throughout  the  South 
brought  him  again  to  his  unwavering  purpose  of  coloniza 
tion  of  the  negro  as  the  only  solution  of  the  then  pending 
difficulty. 

In  his  interesting  book  of  memoirs,  General  Benjamin  F. 
Butler  narrates,  at  page  903,  a  conversation  held  with 
President  Lincoln  early  in  April,  1865.  In  the  course  of  the 
conversation  the  President  said: 

But  what  shall  we  do  with  the  negroes  after  they  are 
free?  I  can  hardly  believe  that  the  South  and  North  can 

live  in  peace,  unless  we  can  get  rid  of  the  ne- 
Colonization  ~          .    -      X1  ...  , 

Proposed  to  groes.     Certainly  they  cannot  if  we  don  t  get 

General  rid  of  the  negroes  whom  we  have  armed  and 
disciplined  and  who  have  fought  with  us,  to  the 
amount,  I  believe,  of  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
men.  I  believe  that  it  would  be  better  to  export  them  all 
to  some  fertile  country  with  a  good  climate,  which  they 
could  have  to  themselves. 

You  have  been  a  stanch  .friend  of  the  race  from  the 
time  you  first  advised  me  to  enlist  them  at  New  Orleans. 
You  have  had  a  good  deal  of  experience  in  moving  bodies 
of  men  by  water, — your  movement  up  the  James  was  a 
magnificent  one.  Now,  we  shall  have  no  use  for  our  very 
large  army;  what,  then,  are  our  difficulties  in  sending  all 
the  blacks  away? 

If  these  black  soldiers  of  ours  go  back  to  the  South  I 
am  afraid  that  they  will  be  but  little  better  off  with  their 
masters  than  they  were  before,  and  yet  they  will  be  free 
men.  I  fear  a  race  war,  and  it  will  be  at  least  a  guerilla 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution          327 

war  because  we  have  taught  these  men  how  to  fight.  All 
the  arms  of  the  South  are  now  in  the  hands  of  their  troops, 
and  when  we  capture  them  we  of  course  will  take  their 
arms.  There  are  plenty  of  men  in  the  North  who  will  fur 
nish  the  negroes  with  arms  if  there  is  any  oppression  of 
them  by  their  late  masters. 

I  wish  you  would  carefully  examine  the  question  and 
give  me  your  views  upon  it  and  go  into  the  figures,  as  you 
did  before  in  some  degree,  so  as  to  show  whether  the  negroes 
can  be  exported. 

General  Butler  continues: 

I  said,  I  will  go  over  this  matter  with  all  diligence  and 
tell  you  my  conclusions  as  soon  as  I  can. 

The  second  day  after  that,  I  called  early  in  the  morning, 
and  said:  Mr.  President,  I  have  gone  very  carefully  over 
my  calculations  as  to  the  power  of  the  country  to  export 
the  negroes  of  the  South,  and  I  assure  you  that  using  all 
your  naval  vessels  and  all  the  merchant  marine  fit  to  cross 
the  seas  with  safety,  it  will  be  impossible  for  you  to  trans 
port  them  to  the  nearest  place  that  can  be  found  fit  for 
them,— and  that  is  the  Island  of  San  Domingo, — half 
as  fast  as  negro  children  will  be  born  here. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what  method  of  calculation 
General  Butler  followed  to  reach  this  absurd  conclusion. 

There  then  follows  the  details  of  a  conversation  in  which 
General  Butler  proposed  that  the  negro  troops  in  the  ser 
vice  of  the  United  States,  then  numbering  150,000,  should 
be  transported  to  the  United  States  of  Colombia  and  set 
to  work  digging  a  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  with 
the  ultimate  purpose  of  afterward  bringing  down  the  wives 
and  children  of  the  soldiers,  and  such  other  negroes  as 
might  desire  to  emigrate,  and  establishing  a  large  negro 
colony  in  that  region  which  would  protect  the  canal  and  the 
interests  of  the  United  States  against  the  world. 


328  The  Negro  Problem 

President  Lincoln  reflected  awhile,  having  given  the 
matter  his  serious  attention,  and  then  spoke  up,  using  his 
favorite  phrase,  "There  is  meat  in  that,  General  Butler, 
there  is  meat  in  that;  but  how  will  it  affect  our  foreign 
relations  ?  " 

He  then  suggested  to  General  Butler  the  advisability  of 
presenting  the  project  in  writing  to  Secretary  Seward  for 
his  opinion,  and  elaborating  the  details  for  this  scheme  of 
colonization.  Before  this  could  be  done,  Secretary  Seward 
sustained  a  severe  accident;  the  war  came  to  an  end,  Lincoln's 
assassination  ensued,  and  with  his  death  the  project  was  for 
the  time  abandoned. 

Doubtless,  had  Lincoln  been  permitted  a  longer  tenure 
of  life,  he  would  have  recurred  to  his  solution  of  the  problem, 
and  taken  measures  to  place  it  in  operation.  In  his  message 
of  December,  1865,  he  doubtless  would  have  presented  to 
Congress  a  plan  for  the  gradual  colonization  of  the  negro 
race,  as  an  adjunct  to  measures  of  reconstruction  of  the 
conquered  states  of  the  South.  Such,  at  least,  would  have 
been  the  logical  outcome  of  the  sequence  of  thought  of  this 
perspicacious  man  as  we  have  followed  it  in  his  published 
words  and  his  attempts  towards  its  actual  realization. 

But  the  hand  of  fate  intervened,  and  the  assassin's  bullet 
removed  the  man  of  all  men  at  once  the  truest  friend  of  the 
black  race,  the  most  endowed  with  knowledge  of  its  needs 
and  capabilities  and  the  most  truly  inspired  with  kindly 
sympathy  for  its  condition. 

Another  school  of  thought  superseded  the  policies  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  Under  the  dictation  of  Sumner,  Stevens, 
and  Butler  the  extraordinary  theory  was  evolved  that  the 
newly  emancipated  negro  was  in  all  respects  the  natural 
equal  of  the  white  man,  and  that  all  that  was  necessary  to 
demonstrate  this  to  be  the  fact  was  the  ballot  to  establish 
his  political  control  in  the  Southern  States,  and  drastic 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Solution         329 

Civil  Rights  Laws  to  proclaim  and  enforce  his  social  equality 
throughout  the  land.  But  the  ballot  dropped  a  useless 
weapon  from  his  untutored  hand,  and  the  enactments  de 
signed  to  secure  his  civil  rights,  passed  with  such  vociferous 
acclaim,  kept  the  promise  of  social  equality  to  his  ear  only  to 
break  it  to  his  hope. 

The  earnest  effort  has  been  to  tell  the  story  of  Lincoln's 
relation  to  the  problem  and  to  set  forth  his  views  of  its  solution 
as  the  words  fell  from  his  own  lips  and  pen  during  the  period 
of  his  prolonged  service  on  behalf  of  the  negro  race.  It 
may  be  added  that  nowhere  is  there  to  be  found  in  his  pub 
lished  works  any  indication  that  he  ever  found  occasion 
to  modify  or  change  his  sentiments  upon  this  subject.  On 
the  contrary,  his  state  papers  abound  with  fugitive  ex 
pressions  on  the  differing  aspects  of  the  topic,  denoting  that 
this  solution  was  continually  present  in  his  thoughts  as  he 
pondered  over  the  problems  of  national  concern. 

Was  Lincoln  right  in  his  proposed  solution  of  the  negro 

problem?    He  was  a  man  of  profound  belief  in  the  capacity 

of  human  nature,  in  its  impulses  for  good,  in 

Lincoln's     ^s  desire  f°r  spiritual  attainment.     He  was  pe- 

Solution  culiarly  gifted  with  the  instinct  of  unswerving 
Right?  ,  i 

justice  and  was  incapable  of  long  advocating  a 

plan  involving  the  slightest  violation  of  human  rights.  He 
saw  all  qualities  of  human  dealing  with  a  learned  and  benign 
spirit.  Did  he  then  fail  to  comprehend  the  principles  upon 
which  alone  a  solution  is  possible? 

Other  great  problems  confronted  him,  and  to  their  solu 
tion  he  brought  the  same  resolution  and  perspicacity  that 
marked  his  dealing  with  the  negro  question.  In  his  domina 
tion  of  other  strong  men  he  was  masterful  of  purpose  and 
successful  in  result.  Who  but  he  could  by  degrees  have 
consolidated  the  divided  North  and  moulded  it  into  a  unit 
for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion?  What  hand  but  his 


33°  The  Negro  Problem 

could  so  tactfully  have  guided  our  foreign  relations  as  to 
have  averted  the  intervention  of  England  and  France  in 
behalf  of  the  South  without  sacrifice  of  the  national  dignity  ? 
Did  he  not,  in  his  dealing  with  military  as  well  as  civil  af 
fairs,  display  acumen,  foresight,  courage,  and  commanding 
intelligence  ? 

Familiar  with  the  past,  wise  in  present  action,  with  seer- 
like  vision,  he  read  the  future  and  predicted  the  very  evils  de 
scribed  in  this  work  from  which  the  land  is  now  suffering  and 
which  it  is  our  duty  to  remove. 

WAS  HE  NOT  RIGHT  IN  HIS    PROPOSED  SOLUTION  OF    THE 

NEGRO  PROBLEM?  And  if  the  solution  was  right  in  1865,  'ls> 
it  not  equally  right  to-day? 

Emancipation  first,  and  colonization  afterward.  For 
tunately,  he  lived  to  see  the  first  effected;  in  some  form  the 
second  is  yet  to  come.  Each  passing  year  emphasizes  the 
tremendous  error  of  the  reversal  of  Lincoln's  long-cherished 
and  profoundly  contemplated  plan  for  the  solution  of  the 
problem  by  means  of  a  policy  of  colonization.  In  its  mag 
nified  dimensions  the  difficulty  has  descended  to  us,  and 
unless  our  faith,  courage,  and  devotion  to  duty  mount  in 
proportion  to  its  increasing  magnitude,  and  unless  our 
wisdom  prove  itself  equal  to  cope  with  the  ever-increasing 
perplexity  of  the  situation,  we  are  likely  to  transmit  the 
problem,  unsolved,  to  vex  our  children  and  our  children's 
children  to  the  remotest  generations.  Nobly  did  Lincoln 
bear  his  part.  The  present  duty  is  ours. 

Can  we,  then,  do  better  than  to  take  up  the  task  where 
it  fell  unfinished  from  Lincoln's  tired  hands,  and  on  his 
lines  and  in  his  spirit  of  malice  toward  none,  and  charity 
for  all,  work  out  the  solution  of  the  problem? 


BOOK   III 
The  True  Solution 


331 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    PROPOSED   SOLUTION 
Reform  it  altogether. — HAMLET. 

THE  purpose  of  the  discussion  contained  in  the  foregoing 
pages,  however  imperfectly  executed,  has  been  accu 
rately  to  describe  the  present  condition  of  the  negro  problem, 
and  to  set  it  before  the  readers  in  all  the  gravity  of  its  naked 
reality.  The  endeavor  has  been  made  to  describe  its  origin 
and  history,  its  magnitude,  its  difficulties  and  dangers,  and 
especially  to  emphasize  its  ever-pressing  demand  for  solution. 

The  effort  has  been  to  demonstrate  that  the  existence  of 
an  alien,  inferior,  and  unassimilable  race,  separated  by  in 
surmountable  racial  barriers  from  the  great  majority  of 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  is  incompatible  with  the 
genius  of  our  democratic  institutions,  and  that  the  contin 
uance  of  the  present  condition  operates  as  a  perpetual 
menace  to  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  country. 

Let  us  briefly  summarize  the  discussion  to  this  point: 

(1)  We  have  seen  that  the  problem  derives  its  origin  from 
the  presence  of  this  alien,  inferior,  and  unassimilable  race, 

and  that  its  solution  is  to  be  found  in  the  adoption 
Discussion  of  a  policy  by  which  the  two  races  may  co-operate 
Summarized  -n  securmg  for  eac]1  the  fullest  opportunity  for 

development,  and  in  carrying  such  a  policy  into  practical 
operation. 

(2)  We   have   carefully  examined   the  current  remedies 
proposed  for  the  admitted  evil,  and  have  found  each  in  turn 
to  be  inadequate  for  the  purpose : 

333 


334  The  Negro  Problem 

(a)  The    proposed    remedies    of    extermination,    and    of 
amalgamation  of  the  races,  are  found  to  be  mere  counsels  of 
desperation,  odious  in  theory  and  impracticable  in  opera 
tion,  and  the  general  laissez-faire  policy  thus  far  permitted 
to   prevail  must  at  once  be  condemned  as  an  unworthy 
evasion  of  present  responsibility,  and  dismissed  as  a  cowardly 
shifting  of  the  difficulty  to  succeeding  generations. 

(b)  The  solution  of  the  South,  now  in  practical  operation, 
must  be  rejected  as  being  opposed  to  the  fundamental  idea 
of  American  democracy,  as  inevitably  resulting  in  the  re 
duction  of  the  negro  to  a  condition  of  permanent  serfdom, 
and  further  as  involving  the  corresponding  degradation  of 
the  white  men  of  the  South  and  the  retardation  of  the  in 
dustrial  and  ethical  progress  of  that  section. 

(c)  The  remedy  of  the  North,  based  upon  increased  edu 
cation  and  industrial  development  of  the  negro,  may  also 
be  dismissed  as  operating  only  to  aggravate  the  problem, 
by  leading  to  strife  between  the  races  in  the  South,  and 
eventually  through  political  exigencies  to  a  renewal  of  the 
sectional  conflict  between  the  divisions  of  our  country. 

(d)  The  negro's  solution  of  the  problem,  in  so  far  as  such 
solution  has  been  given  expression,  either  in  the  insistent 
demand   for   present  political  recognition  and  educational 
opportunity,  or  in  the  slower  development  of  the  theory  of 
President    Booker    T.    Washington,    of    progress    through 
industrial  advancement,  is  still  more  objectionable.     Both 
of  these  plans  in  the  end  involve  recognition  of  the  negro's 
social  equality,  impossible  of  attainment.     In  practice,  they 
constitute  an  ignoble,  silent  submission  to  wrong  on  the  one 
hand,  and  an  ineffectual  protest  against  adverse  conditions 
impossible  for  the  race  to  overcome,  on  the  other. 

(3)  And,  finally,  we  have  been  privileged  to  look  into  the 
mind  of  America's  most  patient  political  philosopher  and 
far-sighted  statesman,  and  to  deduce  from  his  repeated 


The  Proposed  Solution  335 

expressions  upon  the  subject  the  plan  which  he,  in  the  fulness 
of  his  wisdom  and  the  maturity  of  his  experience,  had  de 
veloped  for  the  solution  of  the  problem. 

,We  have  further  established  in  our  review  of  present  con 
ditions  that  the  negro  has  never  in  the  full  significance  of  the 
term  secured  his  recognition  as  an  American  citizen.  That 
when,  as  a  freedman,  he  was  in  his  unprepared  condition 
entrusted  with  the  ballot,  he  proved  himself  incapable  of 
using  it  to  his  own  advantage  or  to  the  advantage  of  the 
community  in  which  he  was  situated,  and  that  as  a  result 
of  forty  years  of  fruitless  experiment  in  this  direction  he  has 
been  completely  disfranchised  throughout  the  South,  the 
white  vote  in  the  same  section  also  largely  suppressed,  and  an 
oligarchy  of  wealth  and  privilege  established.  Further, 
it  has  been  proved  by  the  indisputable  statistics  of  the  case, 
that  by  means  of  this  disfranchised  vote  of  white  and  black 
the  South  exercises  in  the  national  councils  and  in  the  Electoral 
College  an  influence  far  greater  than  its  just  proportion, 
whether  measured  upon  the  basis  of  numbers,  of  wealth,  or 
of  intelligence. 

We  have  seen,  in  addition  to  all  this,  that  so  long  as  the 
barrier  against  social  equality  is  maintained  (and  it  will  be 
maintained  in  perpetuity),  the  negro's  prospect  of  advance 
ment  is  very  discouraging,  and  that  there  is  for  him  in  this 
country  little  opportunity  for  the  acquirement  of  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  a  citizen.  Upon  social  equality  all  hinges. 
Without  that,  it  follows  that  there  can  be  no  industrial  equal 
ity,  no  educational  equality,  no  political  equality,  no  matri 
monial  equality.  Finally,  as  a  result  of  our  survey,  we 
arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  the  solution  of  the  problem  must 
be  sought  in  some  entirely  different  direction. 

At  this  point  the  discussion  turns.  We  are  now  to  seek 
the  true  remedy  for  the  evil;  to  consider  what  to  the  writer 
appears  to  be  the  only  effectual  solution  of  the  negro  prob- 


The  Negro  Problem 

lem;  to  examine  the  measures  advocated  for  carrying  out 
the  proposed  solution,  and  to  demonstrate  that,  difficult 
The  as  the  task  may  be,  it  is  easily  within  the  power 

Remedy  of  a  people  resolutely  determined  upon  its  per- 
e  '  formance  and  animated  by  high  principles  of 
civic  virtue. 

There  is,  after  all,  but  one  way  to  extirpate  an  evil.  The 
cause  of  the  evil  must  be  removed.  Other  remedies  may 
palliate  its  baneful  effects,  or,  indeed,  postpone  to  another 
generation  the  adoption  of  measures  necessary  for  its  cor 
rection.  But  so  long  as  the  cause  of  the  evil  remains,  no 
mere  palliative  can  avail,  and  no  postponement  can  evade 
the  final  necessity  for  a  thorough  reformation. 

The  solution  proposed  in  this  work  is  the  solution  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  Had  he  lived  to  participate  in  the 
reconstruction  of  the  Confederate  States,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  whatever  plan  he  would  have  proposed  to  Congress 
for  the  assurance  of  the  future  of  the  negro  population 
would  have  embraced  a  project  for  the  colonization  of  such 
persons  as  desired  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  and 
a  liberal  scheme  of  assisted  emigration  for  such  freedmen 
as  might  desire  to  leave  the  country. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  by  reason  of  the  virulent  controversy 
which  ensued  after  his  death  between  the  executive  and  the 
legislative  departments  of  the  government,  the  real  welfare 
of  the  negro  was  overlooked,  and  that  the  measures  of  re 
construction  adopted  were  founded  upon  supposed  political 
exigencies,  and  not  upon  a  broad,  philosophic  comprehension 
of  the  nature  of  the  two  races. 

But  forty  years  of  experiment  have  proved  the  futility  of 
the  theory  that  by  conferring  citizenship  and  the  voting 
privilege  upon  the  negro  the  problem  of  the  centuries  could 
be  solved;  and,  as  in  the  lifetime  of  a  nation  or  of  a  race  these 
forty  years  are  but  as  a  day,  it  is  fortunately  not  too  late 


The  Proposed  Solution  337 

frankly  to  acknowledge  the  errors  of  the  past  and  resolutely 
and  intelligently  to  set  our  faces  in  the  right  direction.  In 
structed  by  the  mistakes  of  the  past,  the  endeavor  of  the 
present  should  be  to  bring  about  a  wiser  and  saner  solution 
of  the  problem. 

For  that  purpose,  and  with  all  becoming  deference  to  those 
who  perhaps  in  this  regard  are  far  wiser  than  the  writer, 
The  General  the  following  plan  for  the  solution  of  the  negro 
Plan  stated.  problem  is  presented: 


The  absolute  and  unequivocal  recognition  and  declaration 
of  the  fact  that  the  negro  race  is,  as  a  matter  of  present  con 
dition,  alien,  inferior,  and  unassimilable,  and  is  therefore 
not  qualified  to  constitute  an  element  of  future  American 
citizenship. 

II 

In  recognition  of  this  fact,  the  adoption  of  a  policy  for 
the  gradual  removal  of  the  negro  race  from  the  country, 
not  in  a  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  negro,  but  as  a  meas 
ure  necessary  for  the  permanent  welfare  of  both  races,  and 
in  which  each  will  co-operate  in  carrying  the  project  into 
execution. 

in 

As  means  to  that  end,  the  adoption  of  the  following 
remedial  provisions,  clearly  defining  the  future  status  of 
the  negro  race: 

(i)  The  modification  of  the  first  section  of  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  so  as 
to  provide  that  all  persons  of  the  negro  race  born  after  the 
year  1925  shall  be  excluded  from  national  citizenship,  and 


338  The  Negro  Problem 

until  that  time  conferring  upon  each  state  the  power  of  regu 
lation  over  the  subject  of  state  citizenship. 

The  repeal  of  the  second  section  of  the  same  amendment, 
as  being  inconsistent  with  the  continuance  of  a  republican 
form  of  government,  and  the  substitution  of  a  simple  provision 
basing  representation  solely  upon  the  number  of  citizens. 

(2)  The  repeal  of  all  civil  rights  acts,  state  and  national, 
and  of  all  other  provisions  of  law  designed  to  confer  upon 
the  negro  privileges  other  than  those  based  upon  his  intrinsic 
merit  and  demonstrated  service  to  society. 

(3)  The  enactment  in  all  the  states  of  laws  prohibiting  the 
intermarriage  of  the  white  and  negro  races. 

(4)  The  absolute  prohibition  of  the  immigration  of  persons 
of  negro  blood. 

As  further  means  to  that  end,  the  adoption  of  the  following 
measures  to  effect  the  gradual  and  peaceful  removal  of  the 
negro  race  from  the  country: 

(i)  A  carefully  devised  and  generously  assisted  plan  to 
induce  the  voluntary  emigration  of  all  persons  of  African 
blood.  The  successful  operation  of  the  plan  to  be  secured 
by  means  of  offering  sufficiently  liberal  inducements  to  in 
dividuals,  families,  and  communities  to  withdraw  from  the 
United  States  and  to  establish  themselves  in  other  countries 
affording  them  greater  opportunities  for  material  advance 
ment  and  more  favorable  conditions  for  social  and  political 
independence. 

As  incident  to  this  feature  of  the  plan,  the  acquirement  of 
one  or  more  tracts  of  territory  suitable  for  the  purposes  of 
colonization,  and,  if  found  necessary  and  feasible,  the  assump 
tion  of  a  protectorate  for  that  purpose  over  the  Island  of 
Hayti  or  perhaps  Liberia,  provided,  of  course,  that  the  con 
sent  of  either  or  both  of  those  countries  could  be  obtained. 

The  work  of  emigration  to  be  carried  on  under  the  super 
vision  and  control  of  a  Cabinet  officer,  designated  as  the 


The  Proposed  Solution  339 

Secretary  of  Emigration,  whose  duties  should  also  include 
those  now  discharged  by  the  Commissioner- General  of 
Immigration  in  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor. 

(2)  The  appropriation  of  such  sums  of  money  by  Con 
gress  as  may  be  necessary  to  accomplish  the  purpose  of 
removal,  after  being  authorized  to  that  end  by  an  amend 
ment  to  the  Constitution  similar  to  that  advocated  by  Lincoln. 

(3)  The  establishment  of  a  penal  colony  for  the  negro 
race  in  some  suitable  locality,  outside  of  the  United  States, 
where  all  negro  criminals  would  be  transported,  to  be  cared 
for  in  accordance  with  the  most  improved  system  of  modern, 
scientific  penology.     Such  a  colony  to  be  located,  if  possible, 
in  propinquity  to  the  principal  point  of  colonization,  so  that 
upon  reformation  ex-convicts  could  be  readily  put  in  the 
way  of  gaining  an  honest  livelihood  by  removal  to  the  per 
manent  colony. 

(4)  The  employment  of  negroes  at  liberal  compensation 
in  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  at  Panama,  as  well  as  upon  all 
future  public  works  outside  of  the  country. 

(5)  Ultimately,  and  in  the  exceedingly  improbable  event 
of  any  considerable  portion  of  the  negro  race  being   found 
to  be  willing  to  remain  in  this  country  and  despicably  to 
submit  to  occupy  the  position  of  a  subject  and  disfranchised 
element  of  our  population,  and  should  the  exigencies  of  the 
situation  demand  such  action,  the  removal,  under  authority 
of  law,  of  such  residue  to  a  suitable  locality,  there  to  be 
segregated  from  the  white  race,  and  ruled  and  cared  for  as 
wards  of  the  nation. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  simple,  definite  solution  which  the 
writer  has  the  temerity  to  offer  for  the  settlement  of  this  prob- 
The  lem-  It  differs  from  the  other  proposed  solutions 

Radical  which  have  been  the  subject  of  our  consideration, 

Character  J . 

of  the  in  that  it  presents  a  certain  and  practical  remedy 

So  ution.  jt  g0eg  to  ^e  orjgjn  of  i^  question, 


340  The  Negro  Problem 

and  by  eliminating  the  negro  as  a  factor  in  the  citizenship 
of  the  country,  and  effecting  the  physical  removal  of  the  race, 
works  out  a  radical  disposition  of  the  difficulty. 

It  is,  of  course,  beyond  the  expectation  of  the  writer  that 
the  plan  thus  formulated  should  be  more  than  a  general 
outline  of  the  measures  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the 
principle  of  the  separation  of  the  races  advocated  by  Lincoln 
as  the  only  solution  of  the  problem. 

At  first  blush,  the  proposition  may  seem  to  be  one  of 
startling  character  and  without  any  exact  analogy  in  history, 
but  because  a  thing  is  new  it  is  not  therefore  to  be  condemned. 
If  no  precedent  exists  in  history  for  the  proposed  solution, 
it  is  because,  as  we  have  remarked  in  a  former  chapter,  there 
has  never  been  a  national  situation  of  like  character,  and  no 
great  race  problem,  even  of  similar  characteristics,  which 
has  been  worked  out  in  the  beneficent  spirit  in  which  it  is 
proposed  that  our  statesmen  should  approach  this  gigantic 
task. 

The  proposition  for  the  gradual  removal  of  some  ten 
millions  of  men,  women,  and  children,  citizens  of  our  country, 
whose  ancestors  have  for  generations  been  nourished  upon 
our  soil,  is,  indeed,  radical,  and  calculated  at  its  first  state 
ment  to  impress  the  reader  as  being  of  an  impractical  nature. 
The  difficulties  of  the  situation  are  so  great,  the  public 
mind  has  been  accustomed  for  so  long  a  period  to  contem 
plate  the  problem  from  an  entirely  different  attitude,  that 
for  the  moment  one  is  inclined  to  give  but  little  heed  to  a 
proposition  so  novel  and  startling  in  its  character. 

And  yet,  unless  the  argument  contained  in  the  foregoing 
chapters  is  of  fallacious  character,  it  would  seem  to  be  clearly 
demonstrated  that  the  only  way  in  which  the  two  races 
may  secure  unimpeded  development  in  the  future  is  through 
their  absolute  racial  separation.  All  thorough  students  of 
the  problem  are  substantially  tending  toward  agreement  upon 


The  Proposed  Solution  341 

this  point,  and  therefore  the  only  question  demanding  in 
vestigation  is  whether  the  races  are  to  remain  as  separate, 
integral  units  in  this  country,  or  whether  the  future  wel 
fare  of  both  does  not  insistently  demand  their  more  com 
plete  segregation. 

As  the  proposed  plan  does  involve  a  complete  change 
of  national  thought  in  regard  to  the  future  relations  of  the 
respective  races,  and  compels  the  abandonment  of  the  theory 
which  has  prevailed  during  the  past  forty  years, — viz.,  that  the 
destiny  of  the  negro  must  be  worked  out  in  co-operation 
with  the  white  man  in  this  country,— at  first  view  the  project 
of  assisted  removal  may  appear  to  many  to  be  chimerical. 
But  the  plan  invites  consideration,  and  as  we  most  frequently 
find  the  true  solution  of  a  difficult  and  perplexing  problem 
in  the  adoption  of  some  expedient  which  has  heretofore  been 
summarily  dismissed  as  impossible,  so  in  this  instance  present 
circumstances  signally  favor  the  taking  up  afresh  of  the  plan 
of  assisted  emigration  and  colonization  of  the  black  race. 

If,  after  a  careful  study  of  the  present  situation  and  future 
prospects  of  the  negro  in  this  country,  no  insuperable  ob 
jection  to  the  proposed  plan  is  apparent,  it  certainly  would 
appear  to  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  adopt  measures  to  fa 
cilitate  the  emigration  of  the  race.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever  that  a  considerable  proportion  of  negro  men  and 
women  would,  under  favoring  conditions,  be  willing  to  seek 
new  opportunities  in  other  lands,  and  if  the  proposed  remedy 
should  not  at  once  prove  to  be  successful  in  operation,  it 
would  involve  no  hardship  and  entail  but  slight  expense. 
By  making  an  effort  to  relieve  the  situation  in  this  definite 
manner,  the  philanthropically  minded  people  of  the  country 
would  have  at  least  the  satisfaction  of  having  made  an  honest 
attempt  to  better  the  condition  of  this  unfortunate  people. 

Further,  should  the  proposed  remedy  prove  effectual 
only  in  part,  and  result  in  the  emigration  of  considerable 


342  The  Negro  Problem 

numbers  of  the  African  race,  to  that  extent  at  least  the 
situation  would  be  alleviated;  and  the  rule  to  be  followed 
respecting  this  proposed  work  is,  that  if  all  that  might  be 
done  cannot  be  at  once  effected,  it  is  at  least  incumbent  upon 
us  to  minimize  the  evils  of  the  problem. 

The  suggested  remedy  is  not  to  be  adopted  in  any  spirit 
of  hostility  toward  the  negro.  Recognizing  our  respon 
sibility  as  a  nation  for  his  presence  in  the  United  States, 
our  further  responsibility  for  his  condition  of  ignorance  and 
incapacity  resulting  from  generations  of  slavery,  and  our 
still  continuing  responsibility  for  his  present  disheartening 
prospects,  it  is  by  no  means  an  overstatement  of  the  case  to 
assert  that  we  owe  to  the  negro  the  duty  of  sparing  no  ex 
pense  and  of  stinting  no  effort  to  place  him  in  a  position 
where  he  may  command  the  three  indispensable  requisites 
for  material  advancement  and  moral  development'  —  freedom, 
education,  and  opportunity. 

If  the  proposed  plan  necessitates  the  infliction  of  further 
wrong  upon  the  negro  race,  if  it  does  not  square  itself  with 
all  tests  of  justice  and  fair  dealing,  it  is  not  to  be  for  a  mo 
ment  considered,  whatever  beneficial  effects  upon  the  destiny 
of  the  white  population  of  the  country  might  be  expected 
to  follow  its  adoption. 

This  proposed  solution  is  by  no  means  novel.  Indeed, 
in  one  aspect  or  another  it  ha's  been  presented  in  many  dis 

cussions  of  the  subject.     It  is  familiar  history 
The  Solu-  .        .         -    f      . 

tion  not  a  that  it  was  in  the  early  decades  of  the  last  cen- 
NovelOne.  a  favorecj  suggestion  for  the  solution  of 


the  slavery  question,  and  that  during  the  past  twenty 
years  it  has  been  frequently  referred  to  in  a  casual  way 
as  offering  a  possible  deliverance  from  the  present  evil. 
But  this  true  solution  of  the  question  appears  to  have  been 
invariably  dismissed  as  Utopian,  either  on  account  of  its 
fancied  injustice  or  by  reason  of  its  necessitating  the  ex- 


The  Proposed  Solution  343 

penditure    of  great    amounts  of  money   to   carry    it    into 
effect. 

The  general  idea  of  colonization  is  old.  Of  the  early 
progenitors  of  the  abolition  movement,  the  most  famous, 
Benjamin  Lundy,  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  this  dispo 
sition  of  the  negro,  and  all  of  his  contemporaries  looked 
upon  the  removal  of  the  race  from  the  country  as  the  de 
sirable  end  to  be  attained.  The  general  plan  of  the  early 
advocates  of  colonization  was  gradually  to  accomplish  the 
manumission  of  the  negro,  and  to  transport  the  freedmen  to 
the  west  coast  of  Africa,  where  it  was  thought  that  they  could 
establish  their  own  government,  schools,  business  and  re 
ligious  institutions,  and  that  there  would  be  nothing  then  to 
prevent  their  attainment  of  their  highest  possible  develop 
ment.  Further  even  than  this,  there  was  entertained  the 
philanthropic  purpose  of  carrying  by  means  of  this  coloni 
zation  the  blessings  of  religion  and  civilization  to  the  benighted 
denizens  of  the  African  continent. 

For  these  purposes  the  American  Colonization  Society 

was  organized  in  1817,  with  its  earliest  and  most  ardent 

supporters  in  the  Middle  States,  Maryland,  and 

lean  Colo-    Virginia.     While  recognizing  the   fact  that   the 

Society11       institution  of  slavery  had  been  firmly  fastened 

upon  the    nation,    it  was    hoped  and    expected 

that   gradual    emancipation    might    be    accomplished    by 

means  of  compensation  to  slave-owners,  and  that  as  fast 

as  freedom  was  attained  the  negro  would  seek  restoration  to 

his  native  country. 

In  1834  the  Society  appears  to  have  reached  its  culminating 
point.  At  that  time  ex-President  James  Madison,  of  Vir 
ginia,  was  its  President,  and  took  an  active  interest  in  plan 
ning  its  work.  Prominent  among  its  Vice-Presidents  were 
Chief  Justice  Marshall  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court; 
Marquis  de  Lafayette,  who,  though  residing  in  France,  re- 


344  The  Negro  Problem 

tained  his  early  interest  in  the  welfare  of  our  country;  William 
H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia;  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky;  Samuel 
Bayard,  of  New  Jersey;  Daniel  Webster,  of  Massachusetts; 
and  many  other  statesmen  of  high  standing  and  political 
consequence.  In  fact,  it  may  be  said  that  while  at  that  period 
the  negro  problem  was  not  of  pressing  character,  the  en 
lightened  brain  and  conscience  of  the  country  foresaw  and 
appreciated  the  future  difficulties  certain  to  result  from  its 
continued  existence,  and  sought  by  means  of  colonization 
to  avert  the  appalling  evils  which  it  was  destined  to  inflict 
upon  their  posterity. 
The  declared  purposes  of  the  Society  were: 

(1)  To  rescue  the  free  colored  people  of  the  United  States 
from  their  state  of  ignorance  and  dependence. 

(2)  To  place    them    in    a    country    where    they    might 
enjoy  the  benefits  of  free  government,  with  all  the  blessings 
which  follow  in  its  train. 

(3)  To  spread  civilization,  sound  morals,  and  true  religion 
through  the  continent  of  Africa. 

(4)  To  arrest  and  destroy  the  slave-trade. 

(5)  To    assist  slave-owners  who  wished  or  were  willing 
to  liberate   their  slaves,  and  to  furnish  an  asylum  for  their 
reception. 

The  Society  was  based  upon  the  recognition  of  the  fact, 
which  was  even  then  becoming  apparent,  that  this  country 
was  not  the  home  of  the  negro  and  never  could  become  his 
permanent  abode.  Its  founders  believed  that  while  he 
might  continue  to  live  here  he  could  never  assert  his  privi 
leges  as  a  member  of  the  political  body,  and  could  never 
develop  his  native  powers;  that  the  race  would  always  remain 
an  outcast  people,  mere  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of 
water,  trodden  under  foot  by  the  selfishness  of  the  superior 
whites.  They  saw  that  in  this  country  there  was  no  prospect 
for  him  or  his  descendants  but  that  of  continued  servitude, 


The  Proposed  Solution  345 

and  that  even  if  legally  emancipated  he  would  continue  to 
be  the  victim  of  a  universal  racial  antipathy  never  to  be 
overcome. 

Then,  as  now,  it  was  manifest  that  in  this  country  the 
white  and  the  black  could  never  commingle,  but  that  each 
race  must  separately  work  out  its  destiny.  The  plan  of  the 
organization,  therefore,  was  to  assist  in  the  compensated 
emancipation  of  slaves  without  aggressively  attacking  the 
institution  of  slavery,  and  upon  manumission  to  afford  freed- 
men  a  place  of  refuge  outside  the  boundaries  of  this  country. 

After  many  years  of  ineffectual  effort  to  accomplish  these 
objects,  a  bill  was  introduced  in  Congress,  August  i,  1850, 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  line  of  war  steamers  to  the 
coast  of  Africa  for  the  suppression  of  the  slave-trade  and 
the  promotion  of  commerce  and  colonization.  As  will  be 
more  fully  set  forth  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  the  Colonization 
Society  had  already  secured  in  Liberia  a  tract  of  country 
suitable  for  the  colonizing  of  the  African  race,  and  had  es 
tablished  a  settlement,  which  from  humble  beginnings  had 
begun  to  enjoy  some  degree  of  prosperity. 

The  bill  in  question  provided  for  the  construction  of  a 
fleet  of  warships,  of  not  less  than  four  thousand  tons  burden 
each, — large  vessels  for  that  time, — in  which,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  negroes  could  be 
taken  to  Africa  and  there  supported  until  opportunity  was 
given  them  to  earn  their  own  living  and  to  become  thoroughly 
established  in  their  new  home.  The  whole  scheme  was 
quite  elaborately  discussed,  but  as  it  menaced  the  slavery 
interest  it  met  with  the  determined  opposition  of  the  South, 
and  as  it  was  not  supported  by  interested  public  sentiment 
in  any  section'  of  the  country,  the  movement  for  the  better 
ment  of  the  negro's  condition  lost  strength,  the  bill  failed, 
and  a  valuable  opportunity  for  the  beginning  of  a  successful 
colonization  project  was  neglected. 


346  The  Negro  Problem 

However,  at  that  time  the  project  could  not  have  suc 
ceeded  upon  a  large  scale, — the  circumstances  were  un 
favorable.  The  financial  interests  of  the  South  forbade 
emancipation,  and  until  emancipation  was  complete,  coloni 
zation  could  not  become  effectual.  The  attacks  of  the 
abolitionists  upon  the  institution  of  slavery  had  so  incensed  the 
Southern  mind  that  any  project  looking  toward  the  freedom 
of  the  black  man  could  not  secure  an  impartial  hearing. 

And  so  the  original  scheme  for  colonization  came  to 
naught,  except  in  so  far  as  it  kept  in  the  public  mind  the 
practicability  of  such  a  remedy  for  the  negro  problem;  but 
as  doubtless  the  resulting  discussion  had  its  effect  in  turn 
ing  the  mind  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  formulation  of  his 
cherished  plan  of  solution,  described  in  the  preceding  chap 
ter  of  this  work,  the  movement  was  not  wholly  without  result. 

Let  us,  then,  once  more  refer  to  his  works  and  read  from 
his  annual  message  to  Congress  of  December  i,  1862,  the  phil- 
Lincoln's  os°Pm'c  reasoning  with  which  he  prefaced  his 
Prophetic  earnest  presentation  to  that  body  of  his  plan 
ng*  for  the  solution  of  the  negro  problem  by  com 
pensated  emancipation  of  the  slaves  and  the  colonization 
of  the  freedmen  on  the  lines  advocated  by  the  American 
Colonization  Society.  He  said: 

Our  national  strife  springs  not  from  our  permanent 
part,  not  from  the  land  we  inhabit,  not  from  our  national 
homestead.  There  is  no  possible  severing  of  this  but  would 
multiply,  and  not  mitigate,  evils  among  us.  In  all  its 
adaptations  and  aptitudes  it  demands  union  and  abhors 
separation.  In  fact,  it  would  ere  long  force  reunion, 
however  much  of  blood  and  treasure  the  separation  might 
have  cost. 

Our  strife  pertains  to  ourselves — to  the  passing  genera 
tions  of  men ;  and  it  can  without  convulsion  be  hushed 
forever  with  the  passing  of  one  generation. 


The  Proposed  Solution  347 

Even  in  the  storm  and  stress  of  the  conflict  for  the  preser 
vation  of  the  Union,  amidst  the  strife  of  arms  and  the  turmoil 
of  political  struggle,  his  prescient  mind  instinctively  sought 
and  found  the  radical  solution,  which  not  only  would  effect 
the  immediate  restoration  of  the  Union,  but  would  also  bring 
about  the  permanent  settlement  of  the  underlying  race 
question. 

Following  these  words,  he  proposed,  as  we  have  heretofore 
seen,  his  solution  of  emancipation  and  assisted  colonization. 
Availing  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  discuss  at  length  the 
principles  involved  and  the  means  necessary  to  accomplish 
the  much  wished  for  purpose,  he  indulged  in  that  most 
dangerous  of  mental  experiments,  a  forecast  of  the  wealth 
and  population  of  the  country  for  the  coming  century,  for 
the  purpose  of  at  once  presenting  the  magnitude  of  the  evil 
and  the  adequacy  of  the  national  resources  to  effect  its 
complete  remedy. 

His  estimate  of  the  future  growth  of  the  population  of  the 
country  is  only  slightly  in  excess  of  the  realized  results,  and 
is  certainly  a  monument  to  his  prophetic  vision,  when  we 
take  into  consideration  that  he  could  not  have  foreseen  the 
cruel  check  to  the  increase  of  population  inflicted  by  the  pro 
longation  of  the  Civil  War,  which  he  sought  by  his  projected 
plan  to  avoid. 

He  further  portrayed  the  great  advantages  which  would 
accrue  to  the  white  race  by  the  elimination  of  the  element 
of  negro  slavery,  followed  by  the  colonization  of  the  negro 
population,  which  would  leave  the  country  free  to  develop 
itself  upon  purely  Caucasian  lines,  and  pointed  out  the 
benefits  of  at  once  relieving  the  white  population  from  the 
evils  resulting  from  the  presence  of  the  unassimilable 
race. 

Finally,  in  concluding  the  discussion,  he  meets  the  fanciful 
objection  urged  at  that  time,  that  upon  the  wholesale  eman- 


348  The  Negro  Problem 

cipation  of  the  negro  race  it  would  not  only  fail  to  avail  itself 
of  his  scheme  for  its  colonization,  but  would  pour  into  the 
North,  and  by  the  congestion  there  of  a  species  of  cheap 
labor  inflict  incalculable  injuries  upon  that  prosperous 
section  of  the  country. 

It  is  quite  remarkable  that  in  this  discussion,  and  in  meet 
ing  objections  urged  against  his  plan,  Lincoln  should  not 
have  foreseen  the  present  difficulties  in  which  the  nation 
finds  itself  involved,  yet  singularly  enough  he  does  not  even 
suggest  the  conferring  of  citizenship  upon  the  negro,  or 
consider  any  of  the  measures  which  have  marked  the  en 
deavor  of  the  black  man's  injudicious  friends  to  place  him 
upon  an  equality  with  the  Caucasian  race.  Nowhere  will 
there  be  found  a  suggestion  of  the  possibility  of  the  emanci 
pated  negro  undergoing  retrogression  toward  slavery,  or 
the  possibility  of  racial  conflict  arising  out  of  his  attempt 
to  acquire  social  and  political  equality  with  the  dominant 
white  race. 

In  carefully  discriminating  language  Lincoln  indicates  the 
financial  saving  to  the  nation  which  would  result  from 
the  adoption  of  his  plan,  and  throughout  that  portion  of 
the  message  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  the  project,  his 
language  rises,  in  its  prophetic  character  and  in  its  realiza 
tion  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  situation,  to  the 
highest  plane  of  natural  eloquence. 

But  his  arguments  fell  upon  unheeding  ears;  the  time 
was  not  ripe  for  the  execution  of  his  purpose;  and  it  has 
devolved  upon  a  later  and  better  informed  and  equipped 
generation  to  discuss  the  ways  and  means  for  carrying 
Lincoln's  plan  into  execution. 

When,  after  four  years  of  desperate  war  and  the  expendi 
ture  of  untold  blood  and  treasure,  emancipation  did  come, 
the  public  mind  had  turned  from  colonization;  a  radically 
different  trend  of  thought  had  succeeded,  and  the  mistaken 


The  Proposed  Solution  349 

policy  of  the  past  forty  years  was  substituted  for  the  coloniza 
tion  plan  of  the  earlier  statesmen  of  the  country. 

Is  the  foregoing  plan  indeed  impracticable?  It  cer 
tainly  is  not  an  easy  disposition  of  the  question.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  an  extremely  difficult  and  expensive 
of  the1  ty  one*  But  ^  has  tne  superlative  merit  of  being 
Proposed  radical,  and  when  once  put  into  effective  operation 
will  make  a  final  disposition  of  the  whole  question. 
Desperate  cases  require  desperate  surgery,  and  the  evil 
depicted  in  the  foregoing  pages  is  of  such  alarming  and 
permanent  proportions  that  it  necessitates  a  remedy  of  a 
correspondingly  heroic  character. 

Another  consideration  may  be  here  noted.  The  present 
is  certainly  a  most  propitious  time  for  the  adoption  of  the 
proposed  policy.  The  projected  colonization  of  1850  was 
premature.  The  wealth  of  the  country  was  not  at  that  time 
sufficient  to  carry  out  the  project.  The  attitude  of  other 
nations  would  have  been  hostile.  The  methods  of  com 
munication  between  countries,  and  the  general  development 
of  trade  and  resources  were  not  sufficiently  advanced  to 
justify  the  experiment.  Above  all,  the  African  race  had  not 
received  sufficient  educational  training  and  industrial  de 
velopment  to  qualify  it  for  the  assumption  of  the  task  of 
establishing  a  stable  governmental  organization. 

The  aspect  of  affairs,  on  the  contrary,  at  the  present  time 
is  exceedingly  favorable.  The  resources  of  the  country, 
as  will  hereafter  be  made  to  appear,  are  abundantly  capable 
of  carrying  the  proposed  remedy  to  a  successful  conclusion. 
The  past  fifty  years  have  been  a  period  of  preparation,  and 
the  coming  decades  which  will  be  required  to  place  the  plan 
in  effective  operation  will  afford  to  the  negro  a  sufficient 
chance  for  the  development,  under  proper  auspices,  of  the 
capacity  essential  to  establish  himself  as  an  independent 
factor  in  the  world's  progress. 


35°  The  Negro  Problem 

Further,  unless  this  plan  be  promptly  adopted  and  effec 
tively  placed  in  operation,  the  progress  which  the  negro  is 
making  in  the  acquirement  of  land  and  personal  property 
will  render  the  problem  one  of  increasing  difficulty  with 
each  passing  year.  If  wisdom  should  guide  his  counsels 
to  the  acceptance  of  the  plan,  with  augmented  intelligence 
would  come  both  courage  and  ability  to  act  for  himself  in 
establishing  some  new  home  for  his  people.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  to  be  feared,  from  our  knowledge  of  his  char 
acteristics,  that  with  the  passage  of  time  his  disinclination 
to  sever  himself  from  his  condition  of  dependency  will  in 
crease,  and  the  ultimate  deterioration  which  his  enemies 
predict  would  inevitably  result. 

Tremendous  as  the  undertaking  appears  at  the  present 
time,  and  although  a  completely  satisfactory  conclusion  may 
seem  to  be  unattainable,  the  difficulties  would  gradually 
disappear  were  the  task  once  commenced  in  earnest.  The 
resources  of  the  nation  are  adequate.  The  means  for  the 
accomplishment  of  the  end  are  at  our  hand.  The  necessity 
is  urgent,  and  all  that  is  required  is  a  spirit  of  generous  assist 
ance  on  the  part  of  the  educated  and  wealthy  white  race, 
a  recognition  of  the  necessity  for  this  solution  on  the  part 
of  the  negro,  combined  with  the  courage,  foresight,  and  am 
bition  to  establish  himself  in  a  new  environment,  where 
under  more  favorable  skies  the  destiny  of  his  race  may  be 
achieved. 

No  greater  opportunity  ever  opened  itself  to  the  leaders 
of  a  race  than  would  lie  before  the  chosen  representatives 
Th  Ne  °^  tne  American  negro  were  the  chance  offered 
gro's  Op-  them  to  lead  their  people  forth  to  some  new  land 
portumty.  Q£  promjsej  as  of  o^  fae  Israelites  were  led  out  of 

the  house  of  Egyptian  bondage  into  the  newer  and  better 

land  of  Canaan  lying  so  invitingly  awaiting  their  occupation. 

The  project  should  appeal  to  the  imagination,  the  interest, 


The  Proposed  Solution  351 

the  ambition,  the  pride,  the  philanthropy,  the  morality  of 
the  African  race. 

And  duller  shouldst  thou  be  than  the  fat  weed 
That  roots  itself  in  ease  on  Lethe  wharf, 
Wouldst  thou  not  stir  in  this. 

It  is,  after  all,  the  obvious,  practical,  inspiriting  solution 
of  the  problem,  and  once  adopted  and  earnestly  in  good 
faith  placed  in  operation,  the  wonder  of  the  nation  would  be 
why  its  merits  had  been  so  long  obscured. 

Believing  this  to  be  the  effectual  remedy  for  the  evil  under 
discussion,  it  is  purposed  in  the  ensuing  chapters  to  discuss 
the  means  by  which  the  problem  may  be  solved  upon  the 
principles  announced;  further,  to  anticipate  and  consider 
such  objections  as  are  likely  to  be  presented  to  the  proposed 
solution,  and  in  conclusion  to  point  out  the  beneficial  effects 
which  would  necessarily  flow  from  the  adoption  of  the 
proposed  remedy. 

These  latter  would  be  by  no  means  confined  to  any  class, 
interest,  or  section  of  the  country,  but  would  inure  to  all, 
as  well  to  the  negro  as  to  the  country  which  has  been  for 
nearly  three  centuries  his  abiding  place,  but  in  which  he  has 
never  succeeded  in  establishing  himself  upon  a  satisfactory 
basis,  and  in  which  at  the  present  day  his  race  is  but  an 
outlawed  and  disregarded  element. 


CHAPTER  II 

WAYS  AND  MEANS 

Salus  populi  supremo,  lex  est. 

preceding  chapter  was  devoted  to  the  purpose  of 
1  attempting  to  state  clearly,  and  upon  the  lines  ad 
vocated  by  Lincoln,  the  general  outline  of  the  plan  which 
appears  to  the  writer  to  be  the  only  feasible  method  for 
bringing  about  a  solution  of  the  negro  problem  upon  prin 
ciples  insuring  future  prosperity  and  harmonious  relations 
between  the  races.  As  it  is  incumbent  upon  any  one  having 
the  confidence  to  propose  a  method  for  accomplishing  an 
undertaking  of  this  importance  to  accept  the  obligation  of 
pointing  out  how  the  projected  solution  may  be  carried  into 
effect,  that  burden  will  now  be  assumed,  and  in  the  present 
chapter  an  effort  will  be  made  to  set  forth  in  some  detail 
the  measures  deemed  requisite  and  sufficient  to  produce  the 
desired  result.  And  here  it  may  be  repeated,  that  what  is 
proposed  does  not  necessarily  embrace  all  that  may  be  done 
to  facilitate  colonization,  as  many  other  methods  will  as 
suredly  suggest  themselves  as  experience  develops  the  needs 
of  the  situation. 

It  will  be  noted  that  for  the  successful  accomplishment 
of  the  task,  two  things  are  indispensable.  First,  a  definite 
Two  Indis-  decision  on  the  part  of  the  ruling  Caucasian  race 
pensable  that  the  negro  race  is  not  qualified  to  form  a 
ofe?heSlt6  constituent  element  of  the  citizenship  of  the 
Work.  nation,  combined  with  the  realization  on  the  part 
of  the  members  of  the  latter  race  that  their  opportunity 

352 


Ways  and  Means  353 

for  development  can  never  be  found  in  this  country  in 
association  with  the  dominant  Caucasian.  Second,  the 
adoption  by  the  races  of  such  co-operative  measures  as 
may  place  the  negro  in  a  location  and  amidst  surroundings 
better  adapted  to  enable  him  to  enter  upon  an  independent 
career  of  nationality. 

Let  us,  then,  consider  the  ways  and  means  necessary  to 
accomplish  the  first  of  these  objects.  It  may  be  well  to 
preface  the  discussion  by  saying  that  as  the  proposed  plan 
is  radical  in  its  character,  it  will  be  necessary  for  its  logical 
execution  that  it  be  carried  out  with  strict  and  unswerving 
purpose,  and  that  neither  the  white  man  nor  the  black  man 
should  shrink  from  any  legitimate  conclusion  involved  in  the 
theory  that  the  destinies  of  the  two  races  are  to  be  worked 
out  by  absolute  separation. 

On  the  part  of  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  this 
country — the  white  population — there  must  be  a  just  appre 
ciation  of  the  magnitude  of  the  problem,  and  a  complete 
understanding  of  the  principles  at  stake,  involving,  as  they 
do,  nothing  less  than  the  purification  of  our  national  citizen 
ship  and  the  re-establishment  of  the  integrity  of  our  political 
system;  while  on  the  part  of  the  negro,  in  like  manner,  there 
must  be  the  full  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  segregation 
of  the  races,  although  for  the  moment  inflicting  some  un 
avoidable  hardship  upon  his  race,  will  ultimately  result  in 
placing  within  his  reach  opportunities  for  development, 
possibilities  of  progress,  and  instincts  of  independence 
impossible  of  acquirement  under  existing  conditions.  The 
negro  must  bring  himself  to  the  recognition  of  the 
wisdom  of  the  plan,  and  must  give  to  it  his  unreserved 
acceptance. 

For  the  carrying  into  effect  of  the  first  general  proposition 
of  the  plan  outlined  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  let  us  take 
up  in  order  for  consideration  the  different  proposed  measures 
23 


354  The  Negro  Problem 

which  logically  follow  from  the  adoption  of  the  theory  that 
Discussion  ^  ne§ro  *s  disqualified  by  racial  reasons  from 
of  the  forming  a  part  of  the  permanent  citizenship  of 


Plan  i 

the  nation. 


I 


(l)      THE  MODIFICATION  OF  THE    FIRST    SECTION    OF    THE 

FOURTEENTH  AMENDMENT  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION  so  AS  TO 

PROVIDE  THAT  ALL  PERSONS  OF  NEGRO  BLOOD  BORN  AFTER 
THE  YEAR  1925  SHALL  BE  EXCLUDED  FROM  NATIONAL  CITI 
ZENSHIP,  AND  IN  THE  MEAN  TIME  THE  CONFERRING  UPON 
EACH  STATE  OF  THE  PRESENT  POWER  OF  REGULATION  OF 
STATE  CITIZENSHIP. 

THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  SECOND  SECTION  OF  THE  SAME  AMEND 
MENT,  AS  INCONSISTENT  WITH  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  REPUBLICAN 
GOVERNMENT,  AND  THE  SUBSTITUTION  OF  A  SIMPLE  PRO 
VISION  BASING  REPRESENTATION  SOLELY  UPON  CITIZENSHIP. 

It  will  immediately  be  seen  that  this  involves  a  complete 
change  of  theory  in  regard  to  the  question  of  the  negro's 
qualification  for  citizenship.  The  Thirteenth  Amendment, 
adopted  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  effected 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  but  did  not  in  itself  confer  citizen 
ship  upon  the  negro,  either  in  the  nation  or  in  the  state. 
The  Fourteenth  Amendment,  adopted  in  1868,  not  only  con 
ferred  upon  the  negro  the  titular  dignity  of  national  citizen 
ship,  but  sought  to  protect  him  in  his  newly  acquired  station 
by  denying  to  the  states  the  power  to  deprive  him  of  the 
equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

The  experience  of  forty  years  has  established  the  fact  that 
the  provisions  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  are  insufficient 
for  its  intended  purpose,  and  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past, 
it  will  prove  in  respect  to  the  negro  to  be  merely  a  paper 
promise,  insufficient  to  overcome  the  effects  of  the  disad 
vantage  of  race  under  which  he  labors. 


Ways  and  Means  355 

This  period  having  clearly  made  manifest  that  in  no 
section  of  the  country  is  he  desired  as  a  citizen,  the  modifi 
cation  of  the  amendment  proposed,  to  the  effect  that  no 
person  of  the  African  race  born  after  the  year  1925  shall  be 
entitled  to  citizenship,  will  sufficiently  effect  the  desired 
purpose,  and  will  deprive  no  person  of  the  race  of  the  theo 
retical  advantages  of  citizenship  now  enjoyed,  during  lifetime. 
If  the  question  as  to  whether  the  persons  of  African  blood 
now  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  should  have  the 
inestimable  gift  of  American  citizenship  conferred  upon 
them  were  at  the  present  time  an  original  one,  it  is  confi 
dently  asserted  that  there  would  be  no  question  but  that 
by  a  great  majority  that  honor  would  be  denied. 

In  a  succeeding  chapter  the  general  question  of  American 
citizenship  in  its  relation  to  the  negro  problem  will  be  dis 
cussed,  but  for  the  present  we  may  positively  rely  upon  the 
assertion  that  a  modification  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
which,  while  not  depriving  any  living  person  of  citizenship, 
would  establish  a  future  date  after  which  those  born  of 
African  blood  should  not  be  entitled  to  participate  in  the 
government  of  this  country,  would  meet  in  an  enlightened 
community  almost  universal  approbation. 

There  should  be  in  a  democracy  no  class  of  citizens  deemed 
unworthy  by  reason  of  race  to  exercise  the  privilege  of  the 
franchise,  and  under  the  proposed  modification 
franchised  all  citizens  would  be  qualified,  subject  to  re- 
Citizens.  strictions  uniformly  applicable,  based  upon  sex, 
age,  education,  or  other  appropriate  qualification. 

It  follows  from  this  as  an  unforced  conclusion  that  the 
further  recommendation  that  the  second  section  of  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment  should  be  repealed  ought  to  meet 
universal  acceptance.  Its  retention  in  our  Constitution  is 
unworthy  of  the  American  people.  Its  adoption  was  opposed 
by  the  clearest  thinkers  of  the  wartime  generation,  including 


356  The  Negro  Problem 

Senator  Sumner,  upon  the  ground  that  its  provisions  are 
entirely  repugnant  to  the  theory  of  a  federal  republican 
government. 

None  of  the  communities  constituting  as  states  the  com 
ponent  members  of  the  great  American  Republic  should  be 
allowed  to  disfranchise  American  citizens,  even  at  the  price 
of  accepting  the  penalty  of  loss  of  numbers  in  the, compu 
tation  of  representation  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  in  the  Electoral  College.  Further,  this  section  has  been 
shown  to  be  incapable  of  enforcement,  and  remains  simply 
as  a  blemish  and  an  abnormity  in  our  national  organization. 
Its  repeal,  and  the  substitution  of  a  simple  provision  basing 
representation  upon  citizenship,  would  do  away  with  the 
present  violation  of  the  republican  principle  which  is  in 
volved  in  allowing  unrepresented  citizens  to  enhance  the 
political  influence  of  those  responsible  for  their  disfranchise- 
ment. 

(2)  THE  REPEAL  OF  ALL  ClVIL  RIGHTS  ACTS  AND  OF 
ALL  OTHER  PROVISIONS  OF  LAW  DESIGNED  TO  CONFER  UPON 
THE  NEGRO  PRIVILEGES  OTHER  THAN  THOSE  BASED  UPON 
HIS  INTRINSIC  MERIT  AND  DEMONSTRATED  SERVICE  TO 
SOCIETY. 

After  the  constitutional  amendments  were  adopted,  it  was 
considered  by  the  statesmen  of  the  Sumner  and  Stevens 
school  that  something  was  still  needed  effectually  to  place 
the  negro  upon  a  plane  of  equality  with  the  white  race  in 
the  political  and  social  life  of  the  country.  The  statesmen 
especially  interested  in  the  promotion  of  his  welfare  were 
apprehensive  that  without  other  and  stronger  guarantees 
than  the  constitutional  amendments  the  black  man  would 
not  be  enabled  to  reap  the  benefits  and  to  obtain  the  ad 
vantages  which  they  had  sought  by  constitutional  provisions 
to  confer  upon  him. 

To  that  end,  and  as  a  result  of  the  unceasing  efforts  of 


Ways  and  Means  357 

Senator  Charles  Sumner  of  Massachusetts,  Congress  adopted 
a  measure  commonly  known  as  the  Civil  Rights  Bill,  which 
went  into  operation  March  i,  1875,  and  of  which  the  sub 
stantial  feature  is  as  follows: 

BE  IT  ENACTED  BY  THE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE  OF  REPRE 
SENTATIVES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  CONGRESS  ASSEM 
BLED,  that  all  persons  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  entitled  to  the  full  and  equal  enjoyment 
of  the  accommodations,  advantages,  facilities  and  privi 
leges  of  inns,  public  conveyances  on  land  or  water,  theatres 
and  other  places  of  public  amusement,  subject  only  to  the 
conditions  and  limitations  established  by  law,  and  ap 
plicable  alike  to  citizens  of  every  race  and  color,  regardless 
of  any  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Similar  Civil  Rights  Acts  were  adopted  at  different  times 
by  many  of  the  Northern  States.  The  purpose,  as  plainly 
appears  by  these  laws,  which,  in  addition  to  provisions  of 
the  character  above  noted,  contained  a  statement  of  the 
penalties  denounced  for  violation  of  their  provisions  and 
remedies  applicable  for  persons  aggrieved,  was  to  establish 
by  law  the  practical  social  equality  of  the  negro  race  with 
the  white,  and  to  enable  the  recently  emancipated  slaves 
to  enjoy  perfect  equality  in  relation  to  all  matters  of  a  public 
or  semi-public  character. 

But  as  such  laws  are  invariably  dependent  for  their  effec 
tiveness  upon  public  opinion,  and  as  this  same  public  opinion 
is  certain  to  penetrate  even  the  consulting  chambers  of  the 
highest  courts,  it  has  been  found  that  in  practice  no  valuable 
results  have  accrued  to  the  negro  from  the  adoption  of  these 
various  Civil  Rights  Bills. 

In  the  year  1883  there  came  before  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  what  are  known  as  the  Civil  Rights  Cases 
(109  U.  S.,  3),  in  deciding  which  the  highest  court  of  the 


358  The  Negro  Problem 

nation  held,  in  the  various  cases  presenting  the  question 
in  different  aspects,  that  the  first  and  second  sections  of  the 
Civil  Rights  Bill  were  unconstitutional,  as  not  being  author 
ized  either  by  the  Thirteenth  or  Fourteenth  Amendment 
to  the  Constitution,  and  that,  as  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
was  prohibitory  only  upon  the  states,  Congress  was  not  au 
thorized  to  enforce  it  through  legislation  as  against  individual 
action. 

Space  forbids  a  discussion  of  the  principles  involved  in 
this  and  the  subsequent  decisions  of  the  court  upon  various 
points  presented  by  negro  litigants  under  the  Thirteenth, 
Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  amendments.  It  is  sufficient  for 
the  purpose  of  this  discussion  to  point  out  that  the  court  has 
invariably  held  that  the  amendments,  and  the  legislation 
of  Congress  under  them,  have  been  ineffectual  to  confer  upon 
the  negro  the  rights,  privileges,  and  opportunities  of  social 
equality  which  he  has  so  persistently  sought  to  obtain. 

At  various  times  since  the  adoption  of  the  amendments, 
state  legislation  forbidding  the  intermarriage  of  the  races, 
Ci  il  R'  ht  Proyiding  separate  schools  for  white  and  black 
Laws  children,  authorizing  the  separation  of  the  two 

races  by  railroad  corporations  engaged  in  the 
transportation  of  passengers  (Plessy  vs.  Ferguson,  163  U.  S., 
537),  and  various  other  discriminations  on  the  basis  of  race, 
have  been  upheld  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 

In  the  state  courts,  in  like  manner,  laws  providing  separate 
school  accommodations  for  white  and  black  children  have 
been  upheld  (People  vs.  Gallagher,  93  N.  Y.,  438),  and  in 
the  latest  case  arising  under  the  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth 
amendments  (Hodges  vs.  United  States,  203  U.  S.,  i),  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  again  took  occasion  so  to 
interpret  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  amendments  as  to 
reach  the  conclusion  that  the  remedy  of  the  negro  for  dis 
crimination  against  him  by  individuals,  based  upon  his 


Ways  and  Means  359 

race  or  color,  does  not  lie  in  an  appeal  to  the  United  States 
courts,  but  that  he  must  have  recourse  to  the  state  tribunals 
vested  with  jurisdiction  in  such  matters. 

Throughout  this  long  series  of  decisions  adverse  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  negro's  civil  rights  under  the  amendments 
and  the  different  acts  of  Congress,  Justice  Harlan  of  the 
Supreme  Court  has  consistently,  but  unavailingly,  in  repeated 
dissenting  opinions  given  expression  to  the  true  and  original 
purpose  of  the  amendments  and  the  laws  framed  thereunder, 
viz.,  to  establish  by  force  of  the  enactments  of  Congress  the 
political  and  civil  rights  of  the  negro  upon  an  equality  with 
those  of  other  citizens. 

In  his  profound  and  illuminating  work  entitled,  Law, 
Its  Origin,  Growth,  and  Function,  the  late  James  C.  Carter 
of  New  York  refers  to  these  amendments  and  the  laws  enacted 
to  secure  their  observance  as  signal  illustrations  of  the 
futility  of  attempting  to  enforce  by  law  a  policy  opposed  to 
the  customs,  habits,  and  refined  instincts  of  an  intelligent 
and  self-respecting  people.  He  points  out  that  the  absolute 
failure  of  these  enactments  to  accomplish  their  intended 
purpose  operates  as  a  warning  to  those  impractical  idealists 
who  imagine  that  by  some  miraculous  potency  of  a  statute 
the  negro  may  attain  a  position  of  social  equality. 

In  a  recent  address  at  Chattanooga,  Senator  Foraker 
of  Ohio  in  referring  to  this  subject  said: 

It  seems  incredible  that  the  government,  that  is  all- 
powerful  to  accomplish  the  long  list  of  splendid  achieve 
ments  that  have  been  wrought  at  home  and  abroad,  is  yet, 
nevertheless,  incapable  of  protecting  at  home,  on  our  own 
soil,  under  our  own  flag,  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  their 
constitutional  and  political  rights,  our  humblest  citizens. 

The  United  States  is,  indeed,  powerful  upon  land  and  sea. 
It  has  in  the  past  conducted  successful  and  justifiable  wars, 


360  The  Negro  Problem 

its  financial  resources  are  great,  its  army  and  navy  renowned 
for  efficiency,  but  the  efforts  of  its  government  are  futile 
when  opposed  to  public  opinion.  All  the  fullest  resources 
of  the  country,  its  treasury,  its  soldiers,  its  sailors,  its  ships, 
and  indeed  the  combined  armies  and  navies  of  the  world, 
are  incapable  of  enforcing  the  social  equality  of  the  negro 
race  with  the  white,  or  of  permanently  establishing  the 
political  domination  of  the  black  man  over  the  white  man 
in  the  Southern  States. 

In  like  manner,  in  the  various  states,  Civil  Rights  Laws 
designed  to  benefit  the  negro  are  systematically  ignored  by 
courts  and  juries.  The  sentiment  of  the  community  is 
opposed  to  them,  unchangeably  opposed  to  the  attempt  to 
establish  social  equality  by  provision  of  law,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  years  little  has  been  gained  by  the  negro  in  his 
attempt  to  enforce  these  laws  so  unsustained  by  public 
opinion. 

As  a  final  and  ridiculous  example  of  this  ill-advised  legis 
lation,  we  find  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  consisting  of  seven  dignified  judges,  maintained 
at  great  expense  by  the  people  of  that  state,  engaged  in  the 
earnest  consideration  of  the  important  question  whether  or 
not  an  Italian  bootblack  may  be  compelled  to  add  an  ad 
ditional  lustre  to  the  shoes  of  a  negro,  and  gravely  exonerating 
the  shoe  polisher  from  the  necessity  of  performing  his  menial 
and  disagreeable  task,  on  the  theory  that  a  bootblacking 
stand  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  place  of  public  accommo 
dation  for  all  persons  regardless  of  race,  creed,  or  color 
(Burks  vs.  Basso,  180  N.  Y.,  341). 

While  this  unenforceable  law  would  apparently  give  the 
negro  equal  facilities  and  privileges  in  restaurants  and  hotels, 
theatres,  barber  shops,  and  bath-houses,  the  learned  court 
finds  it  necessary  to  draw  the  line  at  the  humble  office  of 
bootblack. 


Ways  and  Means  361 

Similarly,  in  Connecticut,  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  state 
in  the  case  of  Faulkner  vs.  Solazzi  has  recently  upheld  the 
action  of  a  barber  in  refusing  to  shave  a  member  of  the  negro 
race.  Such  trivial  cases,  when  seriously  considered,  amount 
to  a  reductio  ad  absurdum,  and  clearly  establish  the  necessity 
for  a  repeal  of  such  belittling  and  ineffective  statutes. 

(3)  THE  ENACTMENT  IN  ALL  THE  STATES  OF  LAWS  PRO 
HIBITING  THE  INTERMARRIAGE  OF  THE  WHITE  AND  NEGRO 
RACES. 

The  purpose  underlying  the  adoption  of  Lincoln's  plan 
for  the  absolute  segregation  of  the  races  naturally  involves 
the  legal  inhibition  of  the  intermixture  of  the  blood  of  the 
Caucasian  and  Negro  races.  It  appears  to  be  almost  uni 
versally  conceded  that  miscegenation  should  proceed  no 
further.  The  writer  does  not  remember  in  his  reading  to 
have  found  any  student  of  the  science  of  eugenics  of  the 
present  day  who  has  seriously  questioned  the  fact  that 
amalgamation  of  those  races  is  undesirable.  At  times  some 
negro  essayist  resents  the  attitude  of  the  white  race  upon 
this  subject,  maintaining  with  accuracy  that  social  equality 
involves  the  privilege  of  matrimonial  union  between  black 
and  white,  but  in  practice  such  unions  are  rare  and  every 
where  looked  upon  with  disfavor. 

By  statutory  enactment  in  all  of  the  states  in  the  South 
and  in  several  in  the  North  such  marriages  are  forbidden, 
and  the  effect  of  the  adoption  of  like  provisions  throughout 
the  country  would  serve  as  an  emphatic  assertion  of  the 
purpose  of  the  white  man  to  establish  and  maintain  that 
absolute  racial  purity  essential  to  the  highest  development 
of  the  Caucasian  race. 

The  provision  forbidding  intermarriage  might  well  be 
supplemented  by  the  imposition  of  stringent  penalties  against 
illicit  unions  between  the  races  where  public  sentiment  would 
sustain  the  enforcement  of  such  enactments.  Experience 


362  The  Negro  Problem 

has  shown  the  grave  difficulties  attending  the  execution  of 
laws  of  this  character,  and  the  suggestion  is  made  in  a  ten 
tative  manner  but  in  full  belief  that  upon  the  adoption  of 
the  other  features  of  the  proposed  plan,  an  educated  public 
sentiment  would  compel  the  enactment  of  such  laws  and 
would  actively  co-operate  in  their  enforcement. 

(4)  THE  ABSOLUTE  PROHIBITION  OF  IMMIGRATION  OF 
PERSONS  OF  NEGRO  BLOOD  TO  THIS  COUNTRY. 

This  measure  naturally  follows  as  a  corollary  to  the  main 
proposition.  If  we  are  seeking  by  assisted  emigration  to 
eliminate  the  negro  element  from  the  citizenship  of  our 
country  and  to  transport  the  members  of  that  race  to  other 
regions,  we  cannot  consistently  allow  immigration  of  negroes 
to  continue,  and  should  therefore  adopt  the  same  measures 
which  are  now  in  force  in  relation  to  Chinese  and  other 
undesirable  immigrants,  thus  excluding  all  persons  of 
African  blood  from  the  privilege  of  entering  this  country 
with  the  intention  of  making  it  their  permanent  residence. 

It  is  not  likely  that  this  provision  would  greatly  affect 
the  question,  and  yet  as  there  is  annually  an  immigration 
of  some  thousands  of  negroes  from  South  America  and  the 
West  Indies,  and  probably  also  a  considerable  immigration 
over  the  Mexican  border,  in  a  matter  of  this  supreme  im 
portance  every  precaution  should  be  taken  to  lessen  the 
magnitude  of  the  task. 

The  adoption  of  the  foregoing  provisions  would  in  it 
self  fix  the  permanent  status  of  the  negro  in  the  United 
States,  and  serve  as  a  complete  establishment  of  the  propo 
sition  that  his  permanent  abiding  place  is  not  to  be  found 
within  our  borders. 

II 

We  are  now  confronted  with  the  necessity  of  specifying 
the  ways  and  means  by  which  the  peaceful  removal  of  the 


Ways  and  Means  363 

negro  from  the  country  may  be  accomplished.  In  the  na 
ture  of  things,  it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  any  one 
Plans  for  could  foresee  the  result  of  the  adoption  of  the  pro- 
Removal.  pOse(i  plan,  or  could  in  advance  delineate  in  detail 
the  different  methods  which  may  later  be  adopted  for  its  exe 
cution.  The  following  steps,  however,  appear  to  be  well 
calculated  to  effect  this  most  desirable  object. 

(l)  THE  ADOPTION  OF  A  CAREFULLY  DEVISED  AND 
GENEROUSLY  ASSISTED  PLAN  FOR  THE  VOLUNTARY  EMI 
GRATION  OF  THE  NEGRO  RACE. 

This  broad  purpose  might  be  effected  by  offering  liberal 
inducements  to  individuals,  families,  and  communities  to 
leave  the  United  States  and  to  establish  themselves  in  other 
countries  offering  them  greater  opportunities  for  advance 
ment  and  more  favorable  conditions  for  political  inde 
pendence. 

As  incident  to  this  plan,  the  acquirement  of  one  or  more 
tracts  of  territory  suitable  for  the  purpose  of  colonization, 
and,  if  necessary  and  feasible,  the  assumption  of  a  protec 
torate  for  that  purpose  over  the  Island  of  Hayti  and  perhaps 
Liberia,  provided,  of  course,  that  the  consent  of  those  coun 
tries  could  be  obtained,  would  be  absolutely  required.  The 
important  work  of  emigration  could  be  most  effectively 
carried  on  under  the  supervision  and  control  of  a  Cabinet 
officer  to  be  known  as  the  Secretary  of  Emigration,  whose 
duties  should  also  include  those  now  discharged  by  the 
Commissioner- General  of  Immigration  in  the  Department 
of  Commerce  and  Labor. 

It  will  be  noted  that  at  present  no  suggestion  is  made  as 
to  any  special  place  toward  which  such  assisted  emigration 
should  be  directed.  That  subject  will  be  treated  in  a 
succeeding  chapter.  The  important  thing  to  be  considered 
in  the  carrying  out  of  a  plan  of  this  character  is  that  it 
should  be  made  as  far  as  possible  automatic  and  self- 


364  The  Negro  Problem 

executing,  and  that  it  should  afford  to  the  members  of  the 
negro  race  an  opportunity  easily,  safely,  and  without  especial 
difficulty  to  embark  from  this  country  and  to  establish  them 
selves  securely  abroad. 

In  the  first  place,  after  sufficient  funds  were  annually 
provided  for  the  purpose,  at  certain  of  the  ports  of  the  country 
Provision  agenc*es  °*  tne  Department  of  Emigration  should 
for  be  established,  where,  upon  complying  with 

dividuals.  certajn  simpie  provisions,  any  member  of  the  ne 
gro  race  could  obtain  a  fixed  sum  of  money  upon  condition 
that  he  leave  the  shores  of  this  land  to  return  no  more. 
Thousands  of  negroes  would  immediately  take  advantage 
of  such  a  proposition  and  emigrate  to  Mexico,  Cuba, 
South  America,  or  other  countries  now  offering  them,  in 
point  of  fact,  more  favorable  opportunities  than  the  United 
States. 

Take  the  case  of  a  Savannah  negro,  an  ordinary  laborer, 
engaged  in  no  particular  occupation, — and  really  as  well 
circumstanced  in  one  country  as  in  another; — with  the  offer 
of  an  amount  of  money  sufficient  to  establish  himself  in  new 
surroundings,  would  he  not  gladly  take  his  departure  for  Ha 
vana  or  Rio  de  Janeiro  ?  Would  not  the  negroes  of  Louisiana 
and  Texas  soon  find  superior  advantages  over  the  Mexican 
frontier?  The  offer  of  liberal  inducements  for  emigration 
would,  it  is  believed,  soon  bring  about  a  considerable  exodus 
of  the  floating  and  shiftless  members  of  the  negro  race, 
certainly  the  ones  whose  departure  would  be  considered  no 
loss  to  any  community. 

Arrangements  could  easily  be  made  for  the  transportation 
of  persons  seeking  to  take  advantage  of  the  liberal  money 
provisions  of  the  plan,  and  as  experience  would  indicate 
the  best  measures  to  be  pursued,  the  sluggish  stream  of 
African  existence  could  readily  be  canalized  into  channels 
where,  by  virtue  of  the  law  of  least  resistance,  a  large  portion 


Ways  and  Means  365 

of  the  most  undesirable  element  would  be  rapidly  eliminated 
from  the  North  and  South. 

But  this  method  of  individual  elimination  would  form 
only  a  minor  part  of  the  plan.  Only  the  merest  skeleton  can 
here  be  offered  of  what  could  be  done  by  an  opulent  nation 
intent  on  the  fulfilment  of  a  project  necessary  for  the  pre 
servation  of  a  high  grade  of  citizenship. 

Several  locations  might  be  selected  suitable  to  the  needs 
of  negroes  in  different  conditions  of  life.  Territory  could 
readily  be  acquired,  and  communities  transported  upon  a 
generous  scale,  provided  for,  and  protected  until  thoroughly 
established  in  new  homes.  The  guarantee  of  the  United 
States  Government  would  necessarily  be  given  in  every  case 
to  the  effect  that  there  would  be  no  abandonment  of  the  plan 
and  no  cessation  of  protection  and  control  until  every  pledge 
was  fulfilled  and  every  emigrant  thoroughly  established  in 
the  enjoyment  of  peace  and  freedom  and  the  opportunity 
of  living  in  an  independent  commonwealth. 

It  certainly  would  not  be  an  unbecoming  sight  to  see  a 
fleet  of  United  States  vessels  engaged  in  the  transportation 
of  members  of  the  negro  race  to  their  native  soil  of  Africa, 
including,  if  you  please,  our  warships  and  transports,  which 
certainly  could  never  display  to  the  world  a  better  indication 
of  their  usefulness  to  human  society. 

(2)  THE  APPROPRIATION  BY  CONGRESS  OF  SUCH  SUMS  OF 
MONEY  AS  MAY  BE  NECESSARY  TO  ACCOMPLISH  THE  FORE 
GOING  PURPOSE,  AFTER  BEING  AUTHORIZED  BY  AN  AMEND 
MENT  TO  THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  FOR  THAT  PURPOSE. 

At  this  point  we  approach  what  may  be  regarded  as  the 
vital  point  of  the  question,  the  hinge  upon  which  turns  the 
The  Money  practicability  or  impracticability  of  the  proposed 
Question.  plan.  It  will  be  conceded,  even  by  those  inclined 
to  dispute  the  righteousness  of  Lincoln's  plan,  that  with  a 
sufficient  expenditure  of  money  the  proposition  for  the 


366  The  Negro  Problem 

emigration  and  colonization  of  the  negro  race,  if  supported 
by  public  sentiment,  is  easily  practicable.  The  question  that 
remains,  therefore,  comes  finally  to  this:  Are  the  American 
people  willing  to  make  the  necessary  sacrifice  and  expendi 
ture  of  time,  energy,  and  money,  once  and  for  all  to  rid  their 
country  of  this  admitted  evil  ? 

The  writer  is  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  the  suggestion 
which  follows  is  likely  to  be  regarded  by  many  as  the  theory 
of  a  dreamer,  and  the  scheme  denounced  by  those  having 
opposing  interests  as  being  absolutely  impossible  of  execution. 
It  may  be  such;  but  from  his  point  of  view,  if  the  solution 
of  the  problem  could  be  effected  by  the  expenditure,  within 
the  next  twenty-five  or  indeed  fifty  years,  of  the  sums  about 
to  be  mentioned,  the  remedy  for  the  evil  would  be  exceedingly 
economical  and  in  every  respect  advantageous. 

It  is  familiar  knowledge  that  against  every  proposition 
for  emigration  and  the  establishment  of  a  colonial  refuge, 
the  partial  failure  of  the  Liberian  experiment  will  be  urged 
as  a  precedent  of  non-success,  and  that  the  opponents  of  any 
plan  for  the  removal  of  the  race  maintain  that  at  this  point 
the  theory  of  colonization  breaks  down.  The  obvious  an 
swer  is,  that  the  establishment  of  Liberia  as  a  sanctuary  for 
freedmen  before  the  war  was  never  undertaken  by  the 
country  as  an  official  enterprise,  and  that  the  experiment 
was  not  made  upon  the  generous  lines  made  possible  by  the 
wealth  of  our  government  to-day,  and  never  had  the  in 
telligent  moral  support  of  any  influential  part  of  the  American 
people. 

It  may  reverently  be  said  that  the  situation  as  regards  the 
proposed  plan  of  colonization  reminds  one  of  the  anecdote 
of  the  man  who,  having  been  asked  if  he  believed  in  the 
practical  working  of  the  Christian  religion,  found  refuge 
in  the  answer  that  he  was  unable  to  say,  as  he  had  never  yet 
seen  it  tried. 


Ways  and  Means  367 

There  never  has  been  a  united  effort  to  effect  the  solution 
of  the  negro  problem  upon  the  lines  now  presented.  The 
bare  statement  that  it  is  impossible  to  transport  ten  millions 
of  American  citizens  and  to  settle  them  in  prosperity  in 
other  lands  has,  in  the  past,  appeared  to  be  an  all-sufficient 
answer  to  any  proposal  for  deportation.  Yet  without 
careful  consideration  the  project  should  not  be  so  condemned. 
In  a  future  chapter  this  objection  will  be  met,  discussed,  and 
disposed  of,  by  showing  it  to  be  entirely  without  foundation. 
At  this  point  a  concise  statement  of  the  financial  methods 
to  be  adopted  is  certainly  in  order. 

If  the  task  had  to  be  begun  and  completed  within  one,  or 
five,  or  even  ten  years,  it  would  certainly  be  of  such  her 
culean  character  as  to  discourage  the  most  ardent  spirit. 
But  time  is  long,  and  the  resources  of  the  country  are  great; 
the  work  once  begun,  with  each  recurring  year  a  property  of 
easiness  would  be  acquired  in  its  management. 

Suppose  the  nation  should  appropriate;  under  authority 
of  a  constitutional  amendment  such  as  Lincoln  proposed 
for  the  purpose,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  million  dollars, 
to  be  expended  in  the  first  year  in  execution  of  the  plan. 
This  sum  would  be  something  like  one -twentieth  of  the 
public  revenue  of  the  country,  less  than  one -eighth 
of  the  prospective  annual  expenditure  of  the  National 
Government.  It  is  assumed  that  the  National  Govern 
ment  would  of  necessity  take  upon  itself  the  execution  of 
the  plan,  as,  while  its  operation  might  be  aided  by  state 
action  and  individual  donations,  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
federal  control  alone  would  be  effective,  and  in  no  other 
way  could  a  harmonious  and  concentrated  effort  be 
made. 

The  amount  suggested  would  be  but  a  trifle  compared 
with  the  enormous  wealth  of  the  country,  now  something 
like  one  hundred  and  twenty  billion  of  dollars,  and  could 


368  The  Negro  Problem 

annually  be  devoted  to  the  purpose  without  the  slightest 
hardship  or  a  perceptible  increase  of  taxation. 

Each  adult  negro  taking  advantage  of  the  provisions  of 
the  act  should  be  supplied  with  the  sum  of  five  hundred 
The  dollars,  and  each  infant  under  the  age  of  eighteen 

Amount  be  allowed  two  hundred  dollars,  to  be  paid  upon 
Jssary.  Q^^Q^^Q^Q^  from  the  country  to  any  chosen 
destination.  It  can  readily  be  seen  that  in  case  of  families 
the  amount  provided  would  be  more  than  the  value  of  the 
property  now  possessed  by  95  per  cent,  of  the  members  of 
the  negro  race,  and  amply  sufficient  comfortably  to  establish 
the  emigrants  in  their  new  surroundings.  In  the  case  of 
those  few  who  possess  property  of  their  own,  their  means, 
of  course,  would  be  used  to  supplement  the  amount  provided 
by  the  bounty  of  the  government. 

It  should  further  be  provided  that  no  person  upward  of 
sixty  years  of  age,  and  only  those  in  good  health,  should  be 
allowed  to  take  advantage  of  this  emigration  bounty,  and  it 
might  also  be  advisable  to  increase  the  amount  to  one  thousand 
dollars  in  the  cases  of  women  between  the  ages  of  sixteen 
and  forty-five.  If  this  feature  of  the  plan  should  result  in 
a  general  acceptance,  the  amount  for  the  succeeding  years 
might  be  gradually  increased  to  two  hundred  or  even  three 
hundred  million  dollars,  and  in  conjunction  with  the  other 
features  herein  proposed,  it  is  believed  that  the  project  would 
soon  become  popular  and  the  number  of  negroes  in  the 
country  would  rapidly  diminish. 

While  this  feature  of  the  plan  would,  beyond  doubt,  in 
itself  afford  great  relief  by  gradually  draining  away  many 
of  the  less  aspiring  and  intelligent  negroes,  it  is  to  be  regarded 
as  subsidiary  to  the  main  project  of  the  establishment  of  one 
or  more  colonies  to  which  the  other  willing  members  of  the 
race  should  be  transferred.  This  could  be  effected  by 
establishing  lines  of  government  vessels,  sufficient  for  the 


Ways  and  Means  369 

purpose,  and  to  be  increased  as  demands  arose,  between 
some  of  the  Southern  ports  and  such  place  or  places  as  might 
be  selected  for  colonization  purposes.  The  amounts  men 
tioned  would  be  adequate  for  the  transportation  of  individuals 
and  families  to  some  land  of  opportunity,  and  their  mainte 
nance  there,  under  governmental  protection  and  regulation, 
until  sufficient  time  should  elapse  to  enable  them,  through 
work  and  experience,  to  become  self-supporting  in  their  new 
surroundings. 

The  question  will  naturally  be  asked, — How  long  would 
it  require  under  the  plan  presented  to  accomplish  the  re 
moval  of  the  negro  race?  Assuming  that  some  small  pro 
portion  would  accept,  as  individuals,  the  provision  of  the 
government,  and  depart  upon  their  own  initiative,  and  that 
the  great  mass  of  the  negroes  would  await  some  organized 
method  for  their  colonization  in  Africa  or  elsewhere,  what 
would  be  the  expense  of  the  enterprise  and  what  period  must 
elapse  before  it  could  be  completed? 

Let  us,  therefore,  consider  for  a  moment  this  phase  of 
the  proposed  solution,  premising  by  admitting  that  all  cal 
culations  of  cost  or  time  of  execution  must  be  in  some  degree 
matters  of  speculation.  We  may  begin  by  assuming  that 
by  some  miraculous  interposition  the  negro  has  been  en 
dowed  with  the  present  wisdom  to  realize  the  hopeless  char 
acter  of  his  efforts  to  achieve  success  in  this  country,  and 
that,  in  like  manner,  the  white  race,  in  reciprocal  recognition 
of  this  fact,  is  found  to  be  willing  to  make  adequate  pro 
vision  for  his  transportation  to  locations  more  favorable  to 
his  development. 

Suppose,  then,  that  in  good  faith,  in  kindly  spirit  and 

with   concurring  effort,   the  plan  was  adopted  to  go  into 

practical   operation   January    i,    1909,    with   an 

tipnof         annual    appropriation    of    $100,000,000    (about 

Tlme-  one-sixth  of   the  present  yearly  revenue  of   the 


37°  The  Negro  Problem 

National  Government),  available  for  the  purpose.  Basing 
our  calculations  upon  a  present  negro  population  of  ten 
million  persons,  and  accepting  the  census  figures  as  to  the 
present  percentage  of  annual  increase,  we  find  that  the 
natural  augmentation  of  numbers  for  the  year  1909  would 
be  175,000  persons.  Now,  the  prohibition  of  negro  immigra 
tion,  the  removal  of  all  negro  criminals,  the  employment  of 
negroes  on  public  works  outside  of  the  country,  and  the  other 
minor  features  of  the  proposed  plan,  would  doubtless  reduce 
this  increase  to  less  than  150,000  per  annum. 

Remembering  that  only  persons  under  sixty  years  of  age 
and  in  healthful  condition  would  be  allowed  to  accept  the 
provisions  of  the  plan  for  colonization,  and  founding  our 
estimate  upon  the  proportion  of  adults  and  minors  as  dis 
closed  by  the  census  of  1900,  then  upon  the  proposed  basis 
of  five  hundred  dollars  for  an  adult  and  two  hundred  dol 
lars  for  a  minor,  the  expenditure  of  the  sum  of  three  hundred 
and  thirty-three  dollars  and  thirty-three  and  one  third 
cents  for  each  person  of  the  negro  race  would,  in  the 
average,  it  is  believed,  defray  the  expense  of  their  colo 
nization.  In  other  words,  the  annual  expenditure  of 
$100,000,000  would  suffice  to  secure  the  removal  of  300,000 
negroes  and  their  permanent  establishment  in  more  fa 
vorable  regions  of  the  earth. 

On  this  basis  the  problem  would  be  worked  out  in  this 
way: 

Population,  January  i,  1909 10,000,000 

Increase,  1909,  at  1.5% 150,000 

10,150,000 
Number  removed,  1909 300,000 

Population,  January  i,  1910 9,850,000 

Increase,  1910,  at  1.5% 147,750 

•      9.997.75° 
Number  removed,  1910 300,000 


Ways  and  Means  371 

Population,  January  i,  1911 9,697,750 

Increase,  1911,  at  1.5% 145,465 

9,843,215 
Number  removed,  1911 300,000 

Population,  January  i,  1912 9,543,2I5 

Pursuing  this  method  of  calculation,  and  for  the  sake  of 
brevity  omitting  detailed  figures,  we  find  that  the  total  negro 
population  at  the  beginning  of  each  year  would  be  as  follows : 

1913 9,386,363  19*7 8,735,278 

1914 9,227,358  1918 8,565,306 

1915 9,065,767  1919 8,393,785 

19*6 8,901,753 

It  is  apparent  from  this  table  that  in  ten  years  a  decrease 
of  upward  of  1,600,000  would  be  effected.  Continuing 
the  calculation  by  a  system  of  arithmetical  progression,  it 
readily  follows  that  in  a  little  over  forty  years  the  task  would 
be  completed. 

Similarly,  an  expenditure  of  $200,000,000  annually  would, 
by  a  like  method  of  computation,  in  about  nineteen  years 
bring  about  the  same  desirable  result.  This  latter  is  prob 
ably  as  brief  a  period  for  the  removal  as  the  best  interests  of 
both  races  would  allow  for  making  the  change,  as  consider 
able  time  would  have  to  be  devoted  to  the  purpose,  in  order 
that  business,  labor  interests,  and  other  considerations  of 
high  importance  might  have  time  to  adjust  themselves  to  the 
new  conditions. 

Doubtless,  were  the  plan  once  adopted  and  put  into 
successful  operation,  its  advantages  would  be  so  apparent 
that  a  more  rapid  efflux  of  the  negro  race  would  result.  And 
as  the  migration  would  be  largely  of  the  younger  and  more 
fruitful  elements  of  that  people,  the  natural  increase  among 
those  remaining  would  be  much  less  than  the  percentage 
employed  in  the  calculations. 

In  any  event,  there  can  be  no  question  but  what  the  future 


372  The  Negro  Problem 

revenues  of  the  country  will  be  amply  sufficient  to  carry  the 
project  to  a  successful  termination.  Should  at  any  time 
financial  stringency  occur,  the  credit  of  the  government  could 
be  availed  of  by  the  issue  of  bonds  temporarily  to  supply 
funds  for  so  beneficent  a  purpose. 

The  statistics  prepared  by  the  Census  Bureau  in  1904  1 
show  that  the  average  amount  of  property  for  each  person 
in  the  country  is  approximately  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  and  as  the  interest-bearing  debt  of  the  country 
diminishes,  and  the  amount  necessary  to  pay  pensions  in 
like  manner  decreases  in  the  forthcoming  years,  there  would 
be  no  very  great  difficulty  experienced  in  raising  the  amount 
of  money  necessary  for  the  purpose. 

Further  than  this,  it  has  been  recently  proposed  by  Presi 
dent  Roosevelt  that  for  the  replenishment  of  the  Treasury 
in  case  of  need,  a  tax  might  be  imposed  upon  successions 
and  a  moderate  income  tax  collected.  Careful  calculations 
show  that  an  ordinary  and  moderate  inheritance  tax  would 
produce  a  revenue  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hun 
dred  million  dollars  per  annum,  sufficient  in  itself  to  give 
the  proposition  a  fair  trial. 

Private  benefaction  might  well  supplement  public  pro 
vision.  The  possessors  of  the  gigantic  fortunes  accumulated 
in  the  United  States  find  increasing  difficulties  in  securing 
favorable  opportunities  for"  the  exercise  of  their  charitable 
instincts.  The  work  of  educating  the  Southern  negro  would 
progress  under  more  favorable  conditions,  and  the  fortunes 
of  the  Rockefellers,  Carnegies,  and  Fields  might  well  be 
devoted  to  this  patriotic  attempt  to  better  the  conditions 
of  both  races.  The  $80,000,000  estate  of  the  late  Russell 
Sage,  it  is  understood,  is  eventually  to  be  devoted  to  ele 
emosynary  purposes.  That  inheritance  alone  would,  under 

1  Estimated  True  Value  of  Property,  1904,  made  by  the  Depart 
ment  of  Commerce  and  Labor. 


Ways  and  Means  373 

the  proposed  plan,  suffice  to  transport  the  entire  negro  popu 
lation  of  Kansas  (52,003)  to  Liberia  and  to  sustain  it  in  that 
country  for  three  years. 

The  difficulties  attending  the  amendment  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  so  as  to  authorize  the 
expenditure  of  public  money  for  this  purpose  are  not  in 
superable.  Once  the  gravity  of  the  problem  is  fairly  under 
stood,  and  public  sentiment  enlisted  for  its  solution,  mere 
paper  barricades  would  offer  but  slight  resistance. 

Before  concluding  our  discussion  of  the  financial  require 
ments  of  the  plan,  it  may  be  enlightening  to  devote  a  brief 
glance  to  what  our  own  and  other  nations  have 
Other  accomplished  in  this  regard  under  stress  of 

Nations        pressing  necessities. 

Have 

Done.  The   great   Napoleonic    wars,    from    the    day 

when  the  French  Republic  declared  war  against 
England  to  the  close  of  the  Waterloo  campaign,  cost  the 
latter  country  $7,000,000,000.  The  Franco-Prussian  War 
cost  France  $2,000,000,000,  in  addition  to  the  loss  of  her 
cherished  provinces,  but  in  the  two  years  and  three  months 
from  May,  1871,  to  August,  1873,  she  raised  the  German 
indemnity  of  $1,000,000,000  to  free  her  soil  from  the  presence 
of  the  detested  invader. 

The  English  Government  has  now  under  consideration 
a  measure  providing  for  the  expenditure  from  the  imperial 
funds  of  $900,000,000  under  the  Wyndham  Land  Purchase 
Law  for  the  relief  of  the  landless  peasantry  of  the  western 
counties  of  Ireland  by  the  acquirement  of  grazing  lands 
to  be  allotted  for  purposes  of  tillage. 

Edward  Atkinson,  the  eminent  statistician,  computed 
the  direct  expense  to  this  nation  of  the  late  Civil  War  at 
$6,000,000,000,  and  the  indirect  cost  at  $8,000,000,000  more. 
We  have  already  paid  out  over  $3,300,000,000  for  pension 
claims  arising  out  of  that  war  caused  by  the  presence  of  the 


374  The  Negro  Problem 

negro,  and  the  end  is  not  yet,  as  we  continue  to  pay  pensions 
at  the  rate  of  $150,000,000  per  year. 

The  expense  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  substantially 
an  offshoot  of  the  negro  problem,  was  $335,000,000,  with  an 
increasing  pension  roll  for  future  consideration.  Even 
our  recent  occupation  of  the  Island  of  Cuba,  necessitated 
by  the  uprising  of  the  blacks,  will  involve  an  expense  of 
approximately  $10,000,000. 

The  United  States  Senate  has  under  discussion  a  measure 
designed  to  provide  for  the  improvement  and  development 
of  the  inland  waterways  of  the  country,  carrying  with  it  an 
appropriation  of  $50,000,000,  and  contemplating  the  expen 
diture  of  $100,000,000  per  annum  in  the  future.  Admirable 
as  is  the  purpose  of  this  measure,  its  intrinsic  importance  is 
not  to  be  compared  with  that  of  the  plan  for  the  deliverance 
of  the  country  from  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  the  negro 
problem.  Yet  the  projected  expenditure  of  the  sum  men 
tioned  excites  no  special  comment. 

In  the  face  of  figures  like  these,  the  moderate  expenditure 
necessary  forever  to  settle  the  negro  question  does  not  appear 
so  formidable. 

(3)  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A  PENAL  COLONY  FOR  THE 
NEGRO  RACE  IN  SOME  SUITABLE  LOCALITY  OUTSIDE  OF  THE 
COUNTRY,  TO  WHICH  ALL  NEGRO  CRIMINALS  SHOULD  BE 
TRANSPORTED  AND  CARED  FOR  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE 
MOST  IMPROVED  SYSTEM  OF  MODERN,  SCIENTIFIC  PENOLOGY, 
DIRECTED  TOWARD  THEIR  REFORMATION. 

The  enemies  of  the  negro  allege  his  high  degree  of  crimi 
nality  as  a  conclusive  proof  of  his  natural  inferiority  and 
absolute  incapacity  to  raise  himself  to  a  high  standard  of 
civilization.  The  question  of  negro  criminality  is  indeed 
a  grave  one.  Statistics  presented  in  a  preceding  chapter 
establish  the  fact  that  throughout  the  country  the  negro 
race  supplies  at  least  three  times  more  criminals  than  the 


Ways  and  Means  375 

white  in  proportion  to  its  present  population.  Of  the 
ninety-two  persons  reported  by  the  Chicago  Tribune  as 
having  been  executed  for  murder  during  1908,  forty- four 
were  negroes. 

To  some  slight  extent  statistics  on  this  subject  are  probably 
misleading,  but  they  serve  to  illustrate  the  actual  criminality 
of  the  negro.  Several  reasons  exist  for  this,  but  principally 
the  fact  that  in  the  Southern  States  the  negro  accused  of  crime 
against  a  white  person  may  be  in  general  considered  as  good 
as  convicted,  especially  when  his  conviction  inures  to  the 
financial  benefit  of  the  state  or  county,  by  means  of  the  in 
famous  system  of  the  letting  of  convicts  prevailing  in  that 
section  of  the  country. 

Yet  while  the  actual  criminality  of  the  negro  may  not  be 
quite  so  alarming  as  appears  by  statistics,  certainly  it  is 
discouragingly  great.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  under 
the  environment  in  which  the  negro  exists,  ordinarily  poor, 
unprotected  by  law,  ignorant,  and  irresponsible,  his  neces 
sities  impel  him  to  the  commission  of  those  minor  crimes 
which  appear  to  him  to  be  necessary  to  maintain  his  exist 
ence.  And  so  we  find  that  the  greater  proportion  of  negro 
crime  consists  of  petty  depredations  against  property  and 
assaults  upon  the  person,  the  natural  results  of  the  condition 
of  poverty,  ignorance,  and  intemperance  in  which  the  un 
disciplined  negro  is  usually  submerged.  He  cares  but  little 
for  punishment,  and  the  criminal  negro  released  from  con 
finement  at  once  returns  to  his  former  habits,  and  as  crim 
inality  breeds  criminals,  both  white  and  black,  his  existence 
operates  as  a  constant  drawback  and  menace  to  the  welfare 
of  the  community. 

It  would  appear  that  there  could  be  no  reasonable  ob 
jection  raised  to  the  plan  of  eliminating  the  criminal  element 
among  negroes  by  deportation,  as  above  outlined.  Cer 
tainly  no  state,  North  or  South,  should  wish  to  retain  the 


37°"  The  Negro  Problem 

worthless  criminal  element  admittedly  existing  among 
negroes  to-day,  and  assuredly  no  worthy,  intelligent  negro 
would  interpose  objection  to  the  removal  of  the  degraded 
members  of  his  race  to  some  salubrious  prison  colony,  where 
reformation  could  be  effected,  and  the  convicts  and  their 
descendants  established  as  a  factor  in  the  world's  civilization 
and  progress. 

We  have  before  us  the  example  of  England's  penal  colonies 
in  Australia  and  Tasmania  and  those  of  France  in  Algeria, 
where  under  far  less  favorable  circumstances  great  works 
of  regeneration  have  been  performed. 

The  practical  effect  of  the  removal  of  the  negro  criminal 
element  would  in  itself  go  far  toward  bringing  about  the 
cessation  of  the  increase  of  black  population,  as  under  this 
proposed  provision  it  is  likely  that  some  twenty-five  thousand 
convicts  between  fifteen  and  fifty  years  of  age  would  be 
annually  removed  from  the  country,  with  the  most  beneficial 
results  to  all  concerned.  Such  a  penal  colony,  of  course, 
should  be  established  in  connection  with  the  larger  colonial 
proposition,  so  that  members  of  the  former  settlement,  when 
sufficiently  reformed,  might  be  absorbed  into  the  larger 
establishment. 

(4)  THE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  NEGROES  AT  LIBERAL  COMPEN 
SATION  AT  PANAMA,  IN  CUBA,  PORTO  Rico,  AND  IN  OTHER 
PLACES  SUBJECT  TO  THE  JURISDICTION  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES,  UPON  ALL  PUBLIC  WORKS  CARRIED  ON  OUTSIDE  OF 
THE  COUNTRY. 

Nothing  is  written  more  clearly  in  the  books  of  destiny 
than  that  the  influence  of  this  country  is  predestined  to  in 
crease  and  to  extend  over  the  different  islands  and  portions 
of  the  mainland  of  North  America  lying  to  the  south  of  us, 
and  that  in  the  future  our  present  control  will  ripen  into 
acquisition  and  development.  This  great  work  throughout 
Central  America  and  the  West  India  Islands  will,  during 


Ways  and  Means  377 

the  coming  decades,  necessitate  the  employment,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  United  States,  of  many  laborers  in  the  con 
struction  of  the  Panama  Canal,  forts,  and  coaling  stations,  in 
police  supervision,  and  a  thousand  other  necessities  of  govern 
mental  action.  Trained  and  untrained  negroes  should  be 
taken  from  this  country  as  far  as  possible  for  these  services, 
with  a  distinct  understanding  that  such  employment  in 
volves  permanent  residence  in  the  community  to  which 
they  are  to  be  assigned. 

From  present  prospects,  the  work  on  the  Panama  Canal 
in  itself  will  require  the  continuous  employment  of  one  hun 
dred  thousand  able-bodied  men  for  the  next  ten  years,  and  if 
these  were  carefully  selected  at  liberal  pay  from  the  negroes  of 
Southern  States  and  established  with  their  families  upon  the 
Isthmus  under  the  excellent  sanitary  conditions  now  existing, 
it  would  be  not  only  a  great  step  toward  the  solution  of 
the  labor  problem  of  the  South,  but  a  signal  proof  of 
the  devotion  of  the  black  man  to  service  and  of  his  capacity 
for  doing  something  of  real,  permanent  value  in  the  world's 
work.  This  would  be  but  the  bringing  about  of  the 
realization  of  Lincoln's  project  of  1865,  confided  to  Gen 
eral  Butler,  of  establishing  at  Panama  a  negro  colony 
to  dig  the  canal,  and  incidentally  to  begin  the  work  of  the 
removal  of  the  race  according  to  the  President's  long-matured 
design. 

(5)  ULTIMATELY,  AND  IN  THE  IMPROBABLE  EVENT  OF 
ANY  CONSIDERABLE  PART  OF  THE  NEGRO  RACE  BEING 
FOUND  TO  BE  WILLING  TO  REMAIN  IN  THIS  COUNTRY  AND 
DESPICABLY  TO  DEGENERATE  INTO  A  SERVILE  STATE,  AND 
SHOULD  THE  EXIGENCIES  OF  THE  SITUATION  DEMAND  SUCH 
ACTION,  THE  REMOVAL,  UNDER  AUTHORITY  OF  LAW,  OF  SUCH 
PORTION  TO  A  SUITABLE  LOCALITY,  THERE  TO  BE  SEGRE 
GATED  FROM  THE  WHITE  RACE  AND  TO  BE  GOVERNED, 
CARED  FOR,  AND  PROTECTED  AS  WARDS  OF  THE  NATION. 


378  The  Negro  Problem 

If  the  general  plan  should  prove  to  be  successful,  and  the 
co-operation  of  the  white  and  black  races  in  establishing 
the  negro  upon  a  new  basis  should  result  in  the  departure 
of  the  great  majority  from  the  country,  it  might  be  found 
necessary  after  the  lapse  of,  say,  some  twenty-five  years, 
if  any  considerable  residuum  failed  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  provisions  for  assisted  emigration,  to  require  them,  under 
the  same  terms,  to  leave  the  country. 

It  is  not  believed  that  this  would  ever  be  in  any  degree 
necessary.  The  negro  is  naturally  docile,  tractable,  and 
submissive  to  authority,  and  after  the  majority  of  the  race 
had  been  convinced  that  the  project  of  colonization  was  in 
deed  favorable  to  their  development,  and  after  by  the  efforts 
of  the  white  people  a  generously  assisted  emigration  had  been 
placed  in  successful  operation,  and  the  negro  had  accus 
tomed  himself  to  the  prospect  of  a  change  of  country,  it 
is  not  at  all  likely  that  there  would  be  any  serious  objection 
offered  to  the  consummation  of  the  plan. 

Should  this,  however,  result  and  there  remain  an  in 
tractable  residue  to  the  permanent  detriment  of  any  portion 
of  the  nation,  we  have  in  the  removal  of  the  Indians 
from  Georgia  and  North  Carolina  to  the  Indian  Territory, 
which  resulted  favorably  to  them  and  favorably  to  the  com 
munity  from  which  they  were  taken,  an  admirable  precedent 
for  our  action  in  resolutely,  but  in  all  generosity,  requiring 
the  departure  of  the  remaining  members  of  the  negro  race. 
It  may  be  repeated  that  should  the  project  prove  successful, 
it  would  follow  with  unfailing  certainty  that  no  grave  condi 
tion  of  this  kind  would  arise.  But  salus  populi  suprema  lex 
cstj  and  in  a  great  democratic  community  the  fancied  in 
terests  of  the  small  minority  must  invariably  give  way  to 
the  real  interests  of  the  many,  when  those  conflicting  interests 
are  found  to  be  irreconcilable. 

These  are  by  no  means  all  the  measures  which  might  be 


Ways  and  Means  379 

outlined  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  project 
for  the  assisted  emigration  of  the  negro  race.  Those  pre- 
Other  sented  are  enough,  however,  to  indicate  in  a  gen- 

Measures  eral  way  the  lines  upon  which  the  problem  may  be 
Possible.  i  j  j  , 

solved,  and  the  sincere  endeavor  has  been  made  to 

infuse  into  the  plan  the  spirit  of  equity  and,  indeed,  of 
generosity  in  which  it  should  be  placed  in  execution.  A  duty 
not  to  be  ignored  or  postponed  rests  to-day  upon  the  white 
man  and  the  black  man  alike, — the  duty  of  taking  measures 
to  remedy  the  existing  condition  of  affairs  so  detrimental 
to  the  welfare  of  both  races. 

Other  remedies  have  been  crudely  attempted,  and,  as 
hereinbefore  pointed  out,  have  not  only  failed  of  success 
but  have  left  the  problem  more  acute,  more  difficult  of 
solution,  and  more  threatening  to  the  peace  and  welfare 
of  our  country  than  at  any  previous  time  since  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War.  It  is  but  an  idle  boast  for  the  people  of 
the  United  States  to  point  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  unless 
they  are  prepared  by  the  adoption  of  Lincoln's  plan  of 
assisted  emigration  to  carry  to  fulfilment  the  work  which 
he  had  undertaken. 

The  successful  operation  of  the  plan  outlined  would  be 
certain  if  public  sentiment  were  sufficiently  cultivated,  and 
accurate  information  disseminated  throughout  the  country 
as  to  the  real  status  of  the  problem  and  the  necessity  for 
its  definite  solution.  This  can  be  done  only  by  the  organi 
zation  of  societies  to  bring  about  public  discussion  of  the 
question  before  the  people  of  the  United  States,  discussion 
not  characterized  by  acrimonious  contention  as  to  where  the 
blame  for  present  conditions  should  be  placed,  or  by  dreary 
historical  recitals  of  past  occurrences;  nor  proceeding  upon 
the  futile  theory  of  educational  possibilities  as  a  solvent  of  the 
problem;  but  inspired  by  the  earnest,  practical  endeavor  to 
bring  the  public  mind  to  a  realization  of  the  fact  that  the 


38°  The  Negro  Problem 

obvious  solution,  to  wit,  the  removal  of  the  cause  of  the 
difficulty,  is  the  only  possible  termination  of  the  trouble,  and 
that  this  can  readily  be  effected  by  the  use  of  the  ways  and 
means  at  present  available. 


CHAPTER  III 

WHERE  IS  THE  NEGRO  TO  GO  ? 

The  desire  and  yearning  of  my  soul  is  for  an  African  nationality. 
I  want  a  people  that  shall  have  a  tangible,  separate  existence 
of  its  own;  and  where  am  I  to  look  for  it? 

On  the  shores  of  Africa  I  see  a  republic — a  republic  formed  of 
picked  men,  who,  by  energy  and  self-educating  force  have,  in 
many  cases,  individually  raised  themselves  above  a  condition 
of  slavery.  Having  gone  through  a  preparatory  stage  of 
feebleness,  this  republic  has,  at  last,  become  an  acknowledged 
nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth, — acknowledged  by  both  France 
and  England.  There  it  is  my  wish  to  go,  and  find  myself  a 
people. 

In  these  days,  a  nation  is  born  in  a  day.  A  nation  starts,  now, 
with  all  the  great  problems  of  republican  life  and  civilization 
wrought  out  to  its  hand; — it  has  not  to  discover,  but  only  to 
apply.  Let  us,  then,  all  take  hold  together,  with  all  our 
might,  and  see  what  we  can  do  with  this  new  enterprise,  and 
the  whole  splendid  continent  of  Africa  opens  before  us  and  our 
children.  Our  nation  shall  roll  the  tide  of  civilization  and 
Christianity  across  its  shores,  and  plant  there  mighty  republics, 
that,  growing  with  the  rapidity  of  tropical  vegetation,  shall 
be  ours  for  all  coming  ages. — GEORGE  HARRIS,  in  Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin:  1852. 

IMPRESSED  as  he  was  with  the  profound  conviction 
1  that  the  solution  of  the  negro  problem  lay  in  the  direc 
tion  of  emancipation  and  subsequent  colonization,  Lincoln 
incidentally  turned  his  attention  toward  the  choice  of  a 
place  where  the  race  might  be  established  and  an  opportunity 
opened  for  its  independent  development. 

We  find  in  his  memorial  address  at  Springfield  in  1852, 
quoted  at  page  311,  his  suggestion  that  the  ultimate  redemp- 

381 


382  The  Negro  Problem 

tion  of  the  African  race  and  the  civilization  of  the  African 
continent  might  in  the  inscrutable  purposes  of  the  great 
Ruler  of  events  be  effected  through  the  evolutionary  pro 
cesses  likely  to  follow  the  adoption  of  his  plan.  Likening 
our  situation  to  that  of  the  Egyptians  under  Pharaoh,  cursed 
with  the  plagues  and  torments  engendered  by  the  presence 
of  an  alien  and  hostile  race,  his  hope  and  prayer  were  that 
by  early  and  judicious  action  great  disaster  to  our  people 
should  be  averted  by  an  absolute  sundering  of  its  connection 
with  the  negro  race. 

His  hopes  in  that  respect  were  doomed  to  bitter  disap 
pointment,  but,  frustrated  as  they  were,  his  faith  in  the 
desirability  of  colonization  never  waned.  In  address  after 
address,  in  message  after  message,  in  letter  after  letter,  in 
and  out  of  season,  he  recurred  to  the  opportunity  afforded 
the  negro  to  settle  in  Liberia,  or  elsewhere  beyond  the  boun 
daries  of  the  United  States,  and,  undeterred  by  frequent 
disappointments,  to  the  end  maintained  that  in  colonization 
rested  the  only  hopeful  future  of  the  African  race. 

Upon  the  principle  that  if  all  that  he  sought  could  not  be 
effected,  and  that  if  the  larger  project  of  Liberian  coloniza 
tion,  so  near  to  his  heart,  could  not  then  be  realized,  a  be 
ginning  might  be  made  upon  this  continent,  when  entrusted 
with  the  pitiful  sum  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  to 
undertake  a  six-hundred-million-dollar  task,  he  endeavored 
to  effect  arrangements  with  South  American  republics  to 
receive  an  exodus  of  colored  freedmen,  and  did,  in  fact, 
succeed  in  establishing  a  small  colony  for  that  purpose  on  the 
He  a  Vache,  a  small  island  under  Haytian  jurisdiction. 

We  have  already  discussed  how  circumstances  placed  the 
fulfilment  of  his  wishes  beyond  his  power,  and  how  after 
his  death  the  sweeping  change  of  thought  which  for  over 
forty  years  has  carried  us  away  from  the  true  solution  of  the 
problem  succeeded  the  more  rational  views  entertained  by 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          383 

both  white  and  black  prior  to  the  unfortunate  attempt  at 
reconstruction. 

In  its  essentials,  however,  the  problem  remains  unchanged, 
and,  as  before  stated,  the  situation  is  now  far  more  favorable 
The  Present to  ^  Pr°P°sed  solution  than  it  was  when  Lin- 
Situation  coin's  project  was  abandoned.  Nearly  all  of  the 
avora  e.  deveiopments  of  the  past  forty-five  years  in  science 
and  material  affairs  have  tended  to  favor  the  easier  execu 
tion  of  the  proposed  plan,  while  a  few  changes  have  been 
to  some  degree  unfavorable. 

Of  the  first  class,  the  increased  facilities  of  transportation, 
as  compared  with  1865,  tend  to  make  the  disposition  of  the 
problem  much  less  onerous.  The  difficulties  of  embarka 
tion  and  the  perils  of  the  sea  have  been  greatly  lessened  by 
advances  in  steamship  service,  and  any  liberally  arranged 
plan  of  deportation  would  encounter  but  little  difficulty 
arising  out  of  inadequate  transportation. 

The  increase  of  wealth  of  the  country  has  also  lessened 
the  proportions  of  the  burden.  In  1865  there  were  four 
and  one  half  millions  of  negroes  in  the  country,  while  the 
national  wealth'  was  computed  at  about  sixteen  billion 
dollars.  Since  that  time,  while  the  numbers  of  the  race 
have  slightly  more  than  doubled,  the  wealth  of  the  nation 
has  increased  sevenfold,  and  the  white  population  has 
increased,  largely  through  immigration,  in  much  greater 
ratio  than  the  black.  In  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
task,  the  resources  of  the  country  are  far  greater  than  they 
were  in  Lincoln's  day. 

Advances,  also,  in  sanitary  science  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  how  to  adapt  emigration  to  the  conditions  of  its  new 
environment,  together  with  the  educational  progress  of  the 
negro  during  the  past  forty-five  years,  industrially  and 
otherwise,  the  gain  in  self-reliance  which  has  come  to  him 
with  the  progress  he  has  made,  the  national  experience  gained 


384  The  Negro  Problem 

in  efforts  for  the  amelioration  of  conditions  in  the  Philippines 
and  in  the  supervision  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  all  tend  to 
lessen  the  difficulty  of  the  undertaking. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  developments  have  occurred 

unfavorable  to  the  project  of  transporting  and  settling  the 

negro  people  in  any  community  outside  of  our 

OOH16 

Disadvan-  country.  The  world  has  yearly  been  growing 
smaller,  and  with  the  increasing  development 
of  remote  localities,  and  the  nearly  completed  partition  of 
the  African  continent  among  enterprising  European  nations, 
the  question  of  selecting  a  locality  adapted  to  the  negro's 
needs  and  containing  within  itself  the  necessary  elements  of 
productive  capacity,  easy  communication,  salubrious  climate, 
and  opportunity  for  future  expansion,  makes  the  problem 
at  the  present  time  anything  but  easy  of  solution. 

The  area  within  which  a  colony  of  the  negro  race  may 
be  established  without  encountering  the  violence  of  race 
antipathy  has  become,  and  is  daily  becoming,  much  re 
stricted,  and  if  the  existing  opportunities  are  not  imme 
diately  utilized,  the  passage  of  another  fifty  years  will  surely 
raise  insurmountable  obstacles  to  any  concentrated  and 
co-operating  plan  of  this  character. 

And  yet  the  world  is  very  large.  Take  a  terrestrial  globe 
two  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  territory  in  this  country  now 
occupied  by  the  negro,  where  he  finds  his  present  ham 
pered  and  the  future  darkened  by  race  antipathy,  may  easily 
be  covered  by  the  palm  of  the  hand.  The  most  casual  in 
spection  of  an  atlas  will  show  millions  of  square  miles  of 
territory  capable  of  sustaining  a  civilized  population  open 
to  the  negro  for  settlement,  either  individually  or  in  colo 
nizing  communities. 

And  if  it  be  said  that  the  better  portions  of  the  earth's 
surface  are  already  pre-empted,  and  that  the  black  man  must 
accept  a  position  in  countries  of  inferior  soil  or  where  climate 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go?  385 

or  other  natural  advantages  are  less  favorable  than  those 
now  occupied  by  the  Caucasian,  we  can  only  answer  that 
such  is  the  penalty  of  belonging  to  a  backward  race.  In 
some  regards  this  world  is  like  a  great  playhouse  in  which 
the  first  corners  are  naturally  entitled  to  acquire  the  best 
seats,  and  belated  individuals  must  be  content  to  accept 
those  of  inferior  location. 

And  yet  this  difference  counts  for  but  little  under  present 
conditions  of  trade  and  development,  and  in  the  future  will 
count  for  even  less.  The  reason  why  the  temperate  zone  and 
the  other  more  favorably  productive  regions  of  the  globe  have 
become  the  earliest  seats  of  settlement  and  high  civilization, 
is  simply  because  under  primitive  conditions  of  life  any 
country  to  be  habitable  must  necessarily  have  the  capacity 
to  produce  nearly  all  the  elements  essential  to  human  ex 
istence,  —  timber,  minerals,  grass,  fruits,  and  grains,  —  and 
also  be  possessed  of  easy  means  of  communication  with  the 
rest  of  the  world. 

With   the   greater   development   of  modern   industry,   a 

country  of  limited  area  and  natural  resources  but  possessing 

one  desirable  product  is  now  in  the  fortunate  situa- 

Develop-      tion  of  commanding  toll  from  the  entire  world. 


~  The  coal  mines  of  England>  combined  with  the 
freedom  of  her  political  institutions  and  the  natural 
industrial  capacity  of  her  people,  have  given  her  pre-eminence 
in  the  world's  shipping  and  commerce.  The  peculiarly 
fertile  tobacco  lands  of  Cuba,  cultivated  by  an  enlightened 
and  industrious  people,  would  soon  render  the  island  one  of 
the  richest  communities  in  the  world.  The  remarkable  wine- 
producing  capacity  of  certain  limited  districts  in  France 
enables  their  inhabitants  to  draw  richly  upon  the  resources 
of  other  civilized  peoples. 

One  little  island  with  its  lake  of  asphalt  commands  the 
trade  of  the  nations,  and  in  like  manner  a  copper  mine  or 
25 


3  86  The  Negro  Problem 

rich  beds  of  guano  enable  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
possessing  them  to  exchange  their  one  fortunate  production 
for  all  other  commodities  of  necessity  and  luxury  existing 
in  the  world. 

And  thus  of  much  of  the  unoccupied  country  which  now 
is  open  for  negro  settlement.  While  perhaps  many  tracts 
are  subject  to  general  objection  as  being  undeveloped,  in  the 
end  they  may  prove  so  richly  endowed  by  the  blessings 
of  nature  that  miracles  of  prosperity  may  be  presented  to  our 
astonished  observation.  The  development  of  this  world's 
inexhaustible  resources  is  yet  in  its  beginning,  and  if  the 
negro  race  desires  to  take  an  honorable  part  in  the  work  of 
the  centuries  to  come  and  to  establish  itself  as  a  nation,  with 
its  own  social,  political,  and  industrial  ideals,  the  enterprise 
cannot  be  long  delayed. 

The  principles  governing  the  general  plan  have  been  set 
forth  in  the  preceding  chapter.  It  is  not  proposed  to  con 
fine  assisted  emigration  to  any  particular  section.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  rather  believed  that  through  natural  selection, 
and  by  individual  preference,  the  problem  will  to  a  great 
extent  automatically  work  itself  out.  Perhaps  under  favor 
able  circumstances  a  general  emigration  to  African,  Oriental, 
or  South  American  lands  might  occur.  The  words  of 
Milton  aptly  apply  to  the  situation  of  the  race: 

The  world  was  all  before  them,  where  to  choose 
Their  place  of  rest,  and  Providence  their  guide. 

First,  it  is  quite  likely  that  individual  emigration  would 
in  large  measure  bring  about  an  adjustment  of  the  difficulty. 
Under  the  plan  presented,  apart  from  the  lessening  of  num 
bers  effected  by  the  banishment  of  the  vicious  and  criminal 
element  among  negroes,  and  their  employment  as  laborers 
upon  the  public  works  at  liberal  wages,  it  is  very  probable 
that  numerous  individuals  and  families  would  accept  the 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go?          387 

liberal  terms  suggested,  and  that  through  this  means  the 
situation  would  be  greatly  relieved. 

Certainly,  one  cannot  conceive  of  anything  more  ad 
vantageous  for  a  family  or  six  or  eight  persons  than  the 
acceptance  of  the  two  or  three  thousand  dollars  which  the 
government  under  such  circumstances  would  provide,  and 
the  taking  up  of  their  residence  in  Cuba,  northern  Mexico, 
or  in  any  other  community  where  race  hostility  and  iron 
conditions  of  political  hardship  would  not  operate  to  repress 
their  development.  This  would  particularly  inure  to  the 
benefit  of  those  more  enterprising  and  provident  members 
of  the  race  who  have  already  accumulated  some  property 
by  affording  to  them  the  opportunity  of  investing  their 
savings  in  the  development  of  some  newer  community  with 
out  hazard  of  loss,  and  with  the  certain  assurance  of  adding 
largely  to  their  material  prosperity. 

Communities  could,  by  combining  their  funds  with  the 
amounts  allowed  for  emigration  and  establishment  in  new 
lands,  almost  insure  from  the  beginning  the  prosperity  of 
any  considerable  emigration  movement,  if  the  location  to 
which  it  was  directed  were  well  chosen,  and  the  movement 
itself  energetically  and  intelligently  conducted. 

The  objection  may  be  interposed  at  this  point  that  differ 
ences  in  language  existing  in  nearly  all  the  countries  toward 
which  this  assisted  emigration  could  readily  be  directed, 
would  operate  against  the  efficiency  of  the  plan,  but  to  this 
it  may  be  answered  that  the  negro  has  invariably  shown 
himself  to  be  an  excellent  linguist,  and  that  certainly  this 
disadvantage  is  no  greater  than  that  suffered  by  the  thou 
sands  of  immigrants  daily  pouring  into  our  country,  who, 
with  their  children,  soon  demonstrate  their  ability  to  master 
the  language  of  their  new  habitation,  finding  it  no  serious 
obstacle  to  their  prosperity. 

Leaving  for  the  moment  the  consideration  of  the  general 


388  The  Negro  Problem 

plan,  let  us  turn  our  attention  to  those  points  toward  which 
the  tide  of  negro  emigration  would  most  naturally  be  turned, 
and  consider  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  which  differ 
ent  localities  may  present  as  a  field  of  opportunity  for  the 
race. 

Some  thoughtful  students  of  the  problem  have  in  the  past, 
and  even  to  the  present  time,  entertained  the  belief  that  the 
Separation  negro  mi'ght  yet  be  established  in  separate  lo- 
Here  Im-  calities  in  this  country,  carefully  segregated  from 
the  white  race.  Such,  indeed,  is  the  proposition 
of  Mr.  John  C.  Reed,  advanced  in  his  work  entitled  The 
Brothers'  War,  where  he  urges  the  establishment  of  a  sepa 
rate  state  in  the  West  for  the  negroes.  He  says: 

Put  him  in  a  state  of  his  own  on  our  continent;  pro 
vide  irrepealably  in  the  organic  law  that  all  land  and  public 
service  franchises  be  common  property;  give  no  political 
rights  therein  to  those  of  any  other  race  than  the  African ; 
let  this  community  while  in  a  territorial  condition,  and 
also  for  a  reasonable  time  after  it  has  been  admitted  as  a 
state,  be  faithfully  superintended  by  the  nation  in  order 
that  republican  government  be  there  preserved. 

Mr.  Reed  has  shown  himself  to  be  an  intelligent  and  dis 
passionate  student  of  the  causes  which  led  to  our  Civil  War; 
his  aim  is  philanthropic,— but  his  plan  is  totally  imprac 
ticable.  He  fails  to  point  out  where  he  would  locate  this 
negro  state  capable  of  sustaining  ten,  twelve,  or  fifteen  million 
people,  what  would  be  its  relation  to  the  other  states  of  the 
Union,  and,  above  all,  fails  to  discern  that  after  his  project 
had  been  fully  placed  in  operation  we  should  still  have  the 
negro  problem,  in  a  perhaps  less  aggravated  form,  upon  our 
hands.  It  is  barely  possible  that  sufficient  territory,  at  great 
expense,  might  be  purchased  in  northern  Mexico  for  this 
purpose,  but  certainly  there  are  insuperable  objections  to 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          389 

the  erection  of  a  negro  state  and  its  admission  as  a  com 
ponent  member  of  the  nation. 

Even  more  Utopian  is  the  plan  recently  advanced  by  the 
Reverend  Washington  Gladden  in  his  essay  upon  the  acute- 
ness  of  the  negro  problem,  viz., — to  set  apart  three  or  four 
of  the  Southern  States  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  negro. 
Imagine  for  a  moment  the  difficulties,  indeed,  the  utter 
impossibility,  of  inducing  the  white  inhabitants  of  any 
of  those  states  to  give  to  such  a  plan  even  a  moment's  con 
sideration.  To  abandon  their  ancestral  homes,  the  fields 
which  they  have  cleared  and  cultivated,  the  plantations 
which  have  been  their  family  property  since  the  settlement 
of  the  country,  the  rich  cities  which  have  been  established 
through  their  enterprise  during  the  past  century — to  suggest 
these  things  is  an  answer  to  such  a  proposition. 

Congressman  John  Sharp  Williams  suggests  with  grim 
humor  that  if  this  experiment  is  to  be  tried,  Massachusetts 
and  Iowa  should  be  the  states  selected;  and  Governor  Jeff 
Davis  of  Arkansas  emphasized  the  futility  of  any  endeavor 
to  send  the  negro  out  of  the  South  to  any  other  section  of  the 
country  when  he  pardoned  the  negro  criminal  on  condition 
that  he  would  make  Boston  his  permanent  residence.  No, 
the  solution  of  the  problem,  it  may  be  reiterated,  lies  in  the 
removal  of  the  negro  from  the  country. 

It  must  be  conceded  that  the  difficulties  attending  the 
selection  of  the  future  habitation  for  ten  million  people, 
The  their  transportation  and  establishment  in  such 

General  chosen  locality,  the  guaranteeing  of  their  freedom 
from  undue  hardship  in  transit,  the  overcoming 
of  natural  obstacles  inevitably  to  be  encountered,  and  their 
protection  from  the  molestation  of  perhaps  unfriendly  neigh 
bors,  are  of  the  most  portentous  character.  Only  a  carefully 
regulated  and  an  ably  administered  system  would  be  effectual 
for  the  purpose. 


390  The  Negro  Problem 

Such  a  plan  would  of  necessity  involve  the  framing  of 
treaties  with  other  powers  having  interests  in  the  country 
to  be  selected,  and  the  neutralization  of  any  government 
which  it  was  sought  either  to  protect  or  to  establish  for  the 
purpose  of  affording  the  negro  a  sanctuary.  This  being 
accomplished,  and  the  proper  precautions  taken  to  insure 
the  safety  of  those  entering  upon  the  enterprise,  by  the 
expenditure  of  sufficiently  liberal  sums,  as  detailed  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  whole  communities,  with  their  churches, 
schools,  and  other  institutions,  might  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years  be  transported  to  such  parts  of  the  selected  country 
as  should  be  determined  upon  after  examination  and  by 
prearrangement. 

Such  a  project  could  never  be  allowed  to  be  merely  a 
feeble  experiment,  predestined  to  failure  for  lack  of  fore 
thought  in  plan,  or  of  determined  resolution  in  carrying  it 
out.  On  the  contrary,  it  would  have  to  be  begun,  continued, 
and  completed  as  a  carefully  planned,  courageously  and 
efficiently  executed  movement,  accompanied  by  such  careful 
governmental  guarantees  that  the  black  man,  wherever  he 
went  under  the  protection  of  his  government,  be  it  to  Africa, 
to  Asia,  or  to  the  islands  of  the  sea,  would  have  at  all  times 
and  under  all  conditions  the  continuing  support  of  this  coun 
try  for  his  safety  and  protection,  until  time  was  afforded  him 
to  adjust  himself  to  his  new  environment.  Is  this  too  much 
to  ask?  It  is  not  an  easy  method  of  extrication,  but  it  is 
feasible,  and  above  all  certain  in  its  results. 

In  considering  the  locality  to  which  emigration  of  the 
negroes  would  most  naturally  tend,  we  are  at  once  attracted 
by  the  admirable  adaptation  of  the  Spanish-American  com 
munities  lying  to  the  southward  of  this  country.  There  is 
but  little  manifestation  of  race  antipathy  toward  the  negro 
in  those  countries,  and  honest,  intelligent  negroes  with  means 
to  buy  land  would  be  generally  welcomed.  Mexico  could 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go?         391 

find  room  for  many,  Central  America  offers  a  congenial  field 
for  them,  and  Brazil  and  other  South  American  countries 
would  extend  a  hearty  reception  to  workers  of  thrifty  char 
acter  who  came  provided  with  sufficient  funds  to  establish 
themselves  firmly  in  new  homes. 

In  Cuba  nearly  one- half  of  the  population  is  of  negro 
blood,  and  while  present  appearances  presage  the  growth 
of  a  spirit  of  race  discrimination  there,  the  influx  of  a  few 
thousands  of  the  better  class  of  American  negroes,  re-enforced 
by  their  accumulated  capital,  would  go  far  to  restore  the 
prosperity  of  the  island  and  to  postpone  any  outbreak  of 
racial  strife.  None  of  these  countries  affords  much  oppor 
tunity  for  the  establishment  of  large  colonies,  but  each  of 
them  could  receive  many  thousands  of  our  surplus  negroes 
to  the  mutual  advantage  of  all  concerned. 

But  there  is  a  field  for  colonization  upon  a  large  scale, 
lying  close  at  our  hand,  which,  if  utilized  for  the  purpose, 

would  at  once  afford  a  refuge  for  millions  of  our 
Hayti  and 
San  black    citizens,    whose    intelligent   efforts    might 

Dommgo.  reme(}y  a  condition  of  affairs  which  for  upward 
of  a  century  has  been  a  standing  reproach  to  the  capacity 
for  government  of  their  race. 

But  a  few  miles  from  our  shores,  close  upon  the  great 
highways  of  commerce,  lies  the  marvellously  fertile  island  of 
Hayti,  containing  the  two  negro  republics,  Hayti  and  San 
Domingo.  Embracing  an  area  of  some  thirty  thousand 
square  miles,  with  a  climate  of  unsurpassed  salubrity,  mar 
vellous  agricultural  resources,  and  valuable  mineral  deposits, 
this  island  is  assuredly  one  of  the  most  favored  spots  on 
the  face  of  creation.  Those  familiar  with  its  physical  as 
pects  and  its  productive  capacities  find  it  difficult  to  exag 
gerate  its  great  possibilities  for  the  support  of  an  industrious 
and  enlightened  people. 

And  yet  the  record  of  this  island  for  the  last  one  hundred 


392  The  Negro  Problem 

years  is  a  dark  blot  upon  the  history  of  the  African  race. 
Here,  in  the  year  1804,  occurred  the  only  instance  known 
in  history  of  the  black  man  arising  against  his  master,  eman 
cipating  himself  from  the  shackles  of  slavery,  and  establishing 
an  independent  government.  And  yet  from  the  day  of  its 
birth  as  an  independent  nation,  the  history  of  this  island 
has  been  but  one  continued  story  of  riot  and  revolution, 
bloodshed,  poverty,  and  retrogression,  until  to-day  Hayti 
stands  an  apparent  demonstration  of  the  incapacity  of  the 
African  race  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
civilized  government.  Continually  vexed  with  internecine 
quarrels  and  harassed  by  claims  of  foreign  creditors,  cursed 
by  revolutions  and  impoverished  by  the  exactions  of  the 
tax-gatherer,  Hayti  has  for  over  a  century  drifted  from  one 
excess  to  another,  a  very  derelict  among  the  nations. 

Yet  we  must  not  judge  the  capacity  of  the  negro  too 
hastily.  The  self-liberated  slaves  of  1804  were  entirely 
without  education  or  training  in  the  conduct  of  affairs, 
and  from  the  very  inception  of  this  unfortunate  government 
there  never  has  been  a  sufficiently  skilled  administration 
of  its  concerns  to  enable  the  people  to  obtain  that  material 
development  which  must  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  political 
progress.  The  mere  fact  that  a  negro  state  so  inauspiciously 
established  has  been  able  to  maintain  its  political  independ 
ence  for  over  a  century  certainly  argues  something  for  the 
capacity  for  political  development  of  the  African  race. 

This  rich  island  has  not  escaped  the  notice  of  the  civilized 
world,  but,  while  under  the  beneficent  operation  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  no  European  power  has  ever  attempted 
to  assail  its  autonomy,  its  isolation  has  kept  it  in  a  condition 
of  arrested  development.  The  one  opportunity  of  the 
island  to  gain  the  aid  and  protection  of  the  United  States 
was  thwarted  when  in  1870  the  United  States  Senate  refused 
to  confirm  the  treaty  of  annexation  negotiated  by  President 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          393 

Grant  with  the  then  controlling  authorities  of  San  Domingo. 
In  discussing  the  failure  of  the  Senate  to  ratify  the  treaty 
which  he  had  negotiated  for  the  annexation  of  San  Domingo, 
President  Grant  said  in  his  second  annual  message,  December, 
1870: 

I  was  thoroughly  convinced  then  that  the  best  interests 

of  the  country,  commercially  and  materially,  demanded 

the  ratification  of  the  treaty.     Time  has  only 

Grant's          confirmed  me  in  this  view.     The  government 

Project  of  of  San  Domingo  has  voluntarily  sought  this 
Annexation.  ,.  T,  .  *  1 

annexation.      It  is  a  weak  power,  numbering 

probably  less  than  1,200,000  souls,  and  yet  possessing 
one  of  the  richest  territories  under  the  sun,  capable  of 
supporting  a  population  of  ten  million  people  in  luxury. 
The  people  of  San  Domingo  are  not  capable  of  maintaining 
themselves  in  their  present  condition,  and  must  look  for 
outside  support.  They  yearn  for  the  protection  of  our 
laws  and  institutions,  our  progress  and  civilization. 

Should  we  refuse  them  ?  The  acquisition  of  San  Domingo 
is  desirable  on  account  of  its  geographical  position.  It 
commands  the  entrance  to  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the 
Isthmus  transit  of  commerce.  It  possesses  the  richest 
soil,  best  and  most  capacious  harbor,  the  most  salubrious 
climate,  and  the  most  valuable  products  of  the  mines, 
soil  and  forest  of  any  of  the  West  India  Islands.  In  case 
of  foreign  war  it  will  give  us  command  of  the  islands  re 
ferred  to,  and  thus  prevent  an  enemy  from  ever  again 
possessing  himself  of  a  rendezvous  on  our  very  coast. 

At  present  our  coast  trade  between  the  states  bordering 
on  the  Atlantic  and  those  bordering  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
is  cut  into  by  the  Bahamas  and  the  Antilles.  Twice  we 
must,  as  it  were,  pass  through  foreign  countries  to  get 
by  sea  from  Georgia  to  the  west  coast  of  Florida. 

In  urging  the  annexation  of  San  Domingo,  President 
Grant  established  his  standing  as  a  far-seeing  statesman, 


394  The  Negro  Problem 

eclipsing  by  contrast  the  self-sufficient,  but  myopic,  mem 
bers  of  the  Senate,  who  under  spiteful  leadership  defeated 
the  annexation  project  and  deferred  the  development  of  the 
island  for  probably  half  a  century. 

After  many  financial  disasters,  the  San  Domingo  portion 
of  the  island  some  two  years  ago  entered  into  an  agreement 
with  this  country  whereby  the  foreign  indebtedness  of  the 
republic  may  be  paid  without  subjecting  its  custom  houses 
to  the  control  of  its  European  creditors.  In  pursuance  of 
the  duty  imposed  by  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  the  United  States 
has  assumed  a  position  of  trusteeship,  and  has  taken  upon 
itself  the  burden  of  assuring  to  the  creditors  of  the  little 
republic  the  payment  of  their  claims,  and  for  its  guarantee 
has  substantially  impounded  the  revenues  of  the  country. 
Doubtless  this  is  but  another  step  in  the  development 
of  that  gradual  process  of  supervision  and  control  which  will 
in  the  near  future  bring  into  the  possession  and  protection 
of  our  country  the  fertile  and  beautiful  islands  lying  north 
ward  of  the  Caribbean  Sea. 

Hayti  and  San  Domingo  offer  unusual  inducements  to  the 
negro.  Whatever  race  prejudice  exists  in  this  island  is 
entirely  in  his  favor.  In  the  two  republics  white  men  are  ex 
cluded  from  citizenship,  and  opportunities  for  black  immi 
grants  are  of  the  most  favorable  character.  What  is  needed 
to  develop  this  island  is  the  incoming  of  an  intelligent,  in 
dustrious  people,  qualified  to  carry  on  the  needed  work  of 
agriculture  and  commerce. 

The  island  offers  to  bona  fide  settlers  a  plentiful  supply 
of  good,  cheap  land,  suitable  for  growing  coffee,  cacao,  to 
bacco,  and  many  of  the  other  staple  necessaries  of  life.  One 
range  of  timbered  mountains  150  miles  in  length,  and  an 
other  of  about  60  miles,  are  reported  to  be  full  of  undeveloped 
mineral  deposits,  including  gold,  copper,  and  tin.  Those 
familiar  with  the  country  say  that  there  is  scarcely  a  foot 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          395 

of  its  territory  but  what  may,  under  proper  cultivation  and 
operation,  be  made  a  source  of  prosperous  revenue. 

To  this  island  assisted  emigration  could,  with  little 
difficulty  and  without  great  expense,  transport  one,  two, 
or  three  million  of  willing  negroes,  and  not  only  could 
material  prosperity  be  brought  to  the  emigrants,  but  the 
genius  of  the  race  for  governmental  purposes  could  be  once 
and  for  all  established.  Imagine,  if  you  please,  that  number 
of  black  people  from  the  South  transported  to  this  island 
at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  Government,  supplied 
with  funds  ample  to  secure  for  them  a  sufficient  amount  of 
fertile  soil  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  its  products,  the 
transplanting  of  Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Insti 
tute,  the  common  school  system  established  and  liberally 
supported,  churches  organized,  and  American  ideas  intro 
duced, — what  a  regeneration  of  the  island  would  follow! 
The  opportunity  lies  before  the  negro  men  and  women  of  the 
United  States.  Will  they  avail  themselves  of  it  ? 

Numerous  as  are  the  opportunities  for  assisted  emigration 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  upon  the  continent  southward  of 

the  United  States,  favorable  alike  to  independent 
Africa  as  a 

Refuge  for  enterprise  and  the  colonization  of  communities 
Negro"  under  the  sheltering  aegis  of  the  American  flag, 
the  negro  is  by  no  means  limited  in  his  choice  to  portions 
of  this  continent.  The  twofold  object  of  the  suggested 
solution,  viz.,  the  deliverance  of  our  country  from  the  ills 
attendant  upon  the  presence  of  the  negro  race,  and  the 
establishment  of  that  people  in  some  more  favoring  land 
under  conditions  affording  it  opportunities  for  development, 
can  be  attained  only  by  the  selection  of  some  territory  emi 
nently  adapted  to  be  the  permanent  abode  of  all  persons  of 
African  blood. 

Where,  then,  shall  we  focus  our  efforts  to  establish  the 
negro  ?  Our  thoughts  immediately  turn  to  Africa,  the  natural 


396  The  Negro  Problem 

home  of  the  negro  race,  and  the  continent  where  now  reside 
nine -tenths  of  the  people  of  that  ethnic  stock.  Until  after 
the  emancipation  of  the  race  by  the  Civil  War  the  idea  was 
never  generally  entertained  that  its  members  were  to  become 
a  permanent  element  of  the  population  of  this  country. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  always  assumed  that  in  the  event 
of  manumission  the  negroes  would  gladly  return  to 
Africa.  Throughout  the  story  of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin, 
every  aspiration  of  the  negro  for  freedom  is  accompanied 
by  the  desire  to  return  to  the  land  of  his  ancestors,  and 
the  book  closes  with  a  general  invitation  on  the  part  of 
the  principal  characters  to  the  members  of  their  race  to 
make  colonization  their  aim  and  Africa  their  field  of  work 
in  the  future. 

Notwithstanding  what  may  be  alleged  to  the  contrary, 
the  climate,  the  soil,  and  the  character  of  the  productions  of 
that  continent  are  eminently  favorable  to  the  improvement  of 
the  negro  race.  It  has  been  for  untold  generations  the  home 
of  that  people,  and  no  one  who  has  given  the  matter  con 
sideration,  and  especially  who  has  observed  some  of  the 
physical  specimens  developed  in  that  country  amidst  un 
favorable  conditions,  can  give  assent  to  the  proposition  that 
the  living  conditions  of  the  African  continent  would  lead 
to  any  deterioration  of  the  racial  physique.  It  is  an  error 
to  assume  that  the  country  of  the  negro's  forefathers  is  one 
not  to  be  desired,  or  that  for  any  reason  it  is  unfitted  for 
the  habitation  of  civilized  man. 

While  President  Booker  T.  Washington's  ten  millions 
of  advanced  negroes  stand  aloof  in  timid  hesitation  about 
returning  to  the  land  of  their  forefathers,  English,  French, 
German,  Italian,  and  Belgian  immigrants  are  eagerly  crowd 
ing  into  its  rich  fields  of  opportunity,  and  soon,  if  the  present 
movement  continues,  the  continent  of  Africa  will  be  parcelled 
out  into  divisions  absolutely  controlled  by  the  greater  Euro- 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          397 

pean  powers,  and  there  will  be  no  opportunity  for  the  negro 
to  establish  an  independent  state. 

From  north  and  south  England  eagerly  presses  her  land- 
acquiring  policy;  on  the  northwest  France  is  extending  her 
boundaries  southward;  Germany  has  pre-empted  a  huge 
cantle  of  fertile  East  African  soil;  little  Belgium  is  for  the 
moment  successful  in  her  scheming  for  control  of  the  great 
resources  of  the  Congo  Valley,  and  Italy  and  Portugal  are 
endeavoring  to  secure  their  fair  share  in  the  general  allot 
ment  of  the  continent.  Within  two  or  three  years  the  Cape 
to  Cairo  railway  will  be  opened  and  Pullman  palace  cars  will 
run  from  Cape  Town  to  the  Mediterranean,  while  the  Congo 
Valley  railway  will  make  connection  with  the  main  line  from 
the  west,  Steamboats  are  now  plying  upon  the  great  lakes  of 
the  interior  and  the  upper  waters  of  the  Congo,  and  the  jour 
ney  across  the  continent  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Indian 
Ocean  may  be  made  by  steamboat  and  railroad.  The  present 
half-century  will  see  Africa's  exhaustless  storehouse  of  wealth 
opened  to  the  civilized  world. 

The  negro's  opportunity  exists  to-day;  within  a  few  years 
it  will  have  passed  away  never  to  return.  As  an  illustration 
of  the  tendency  of  the  times  and  of  the  growing  apprecia 
tion  with  which  this  valuable  territory  is  regarded,  atten 
tion  is  particularly  called  to  the  rapid  settlement  now  going 
on  in  what  is  known  as  German  East  Africa,  a  possession 
embracing  a  large  tract  south  of  the  Equator  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  African  continent,  in  the  same  parallel  of  latitude 
as  the  Congo  Free  State. 

There  has  recently  appeared  a  work  upon  the  development 
of  German  interests  in  that  region,  by  Dr.  Hermann  Paasche, 
Vice-President  of  the  German  Reichstag,  who  spent  some 
months  in  German  East  Africa  making  a  study  of  the  prog 
ress  of  the  German  community  now  being  established  on 
that  coast.  He  reports  that  there  is  room  for  hundreds  of 


The  Negro  Problem 

thousands  of  German  farmers  in  that  section,  describing  the 
products  of  the  country  as  being  rich  and  varied,  and  men 
tioning  especially  the  rubber  plantations  established  by  the 
German  immigrants,  covering  45,000  acres,  which  bid  fair  in 
a  few  years  to  contribute  an  important  addition  to  the  rubber 
product  of  the  world.  A  careful  observer  and  an  accurate 
student  of  the  possibilities  of  this  section,  he  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  healthful  climatic  conditions  exist,  especially 
in  the  highlands,  where  a  comparatively  temperate  climate 
prevails.  If,  as  appears  to  be  the  case,  without  assistance, 
colonists  from  Germany  can  establish  themselves  in  this  fruit 
ful  country  and  build  up  a  valuable  industrial  community, 
should  not  like  prospects  appeal  to  the  American  negro, 
who  certainly  has  much  stronger  inducement  to  quit  this 
country  for  a  more  favorable  clime  than  the  German  emi 
grant  to  abandon  his  fatherland  ? 

It  is  impossible  to  undertake  to  discuss  within  the  limits 
of  this  chapter  all  the  localities  upon  the  African  con 
tinent  open  to  settlement  by  courageous  and  industrious 
negroes.  A  brief  description  of  two  which  seem  especially 
favorable  at  the  present  time  will  suffice  to  establish  the 
proposition  that  the  project  of  colonization  presents  no  in 
superable  difficulties. 

The  Congo  Free  State  lies  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  south 
of  the  Equator,  embracing  an  area  of  from  850,000  to 
900,000  square  miles,  approximately  the  extent 

of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

It  is  a  rich,  well  watered  country,  with  a  tropical 
but  not  unhealthful  climate.  Especially  is  this  the  fact  in 
the  interior,  which  is  a  high  tableland,  well  watered  by  the 
Congo  and  its  tributaries,  affording  it  easy  access  to  the  sea. 
It  is  a  country  of  rare  fertility  and  of  tremendous  capacity 
for  the  production  of  tropical  commodities,  especially  of 
rubber,  of  which  it  promises  to  be  the  greatest  producing 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go?  399 

territory  in  the  world.  The  variety  of  plants  from  which 
India-rubber  is  obtained  in  the  Congo  basin  is  said  to  be 
greater  than  anywhere  else  on  the  globe,  and  the  quality 
of  the  rubber  product  is  unexcelled.  The  rubber  industry 
is  rapidly  becoming  one  of  the  leading  commercial  interests 
in  modern  life,  and  the  production  of  this  article,  together 
with  the  other  bountiful  gifts  of  nature  existing  throughout 
this  favored  locality,  is  making  it  a  territory  sought  by  all 
the  capitalists  of  the  world  for  industrial  development. 

It  was,  as  its  title  indicates,  intended  to  be  a  free  African 
state,  and  in  the  words  of  Mr.  C.  F.  Stoddard,  who  has 
recently  returned  from  an  extensive  exploring  trip  of  the 
region,  "the  mining,  agricultural  and  lumbering  possibilities 
of  the  state  are  enormous,  and,  properly  handled,  must 
become  important  factors  in  the  commerce  of  the  world. " 

The  population  is  variously  estimated  at  from  twenty  to 
thirty  millions,  principally  of  the  purer  African  types,  there 
being  but  few  white  men  domiciled  within  its  borders.  Many 
of  the  natives  are  somewhat  advanced  in  the  arts  of  civiliza 
tion,  but  the  vast  majority  are  in  a  condition  of  savagery  and 
impoverishment  but  little  removed  from  slavery. 

This  rich  country  is  unrestrictedly  open  for  settlement 
and  development,  and  offers  very  favorable  opportunities 
for  organized  effort  upon  the  part  of  the  United  States  to 
assist  African  emigration.  It  is  the  country  from  which 
the  ancestors  of  many  of  the  negro  people  now  in  this  land 
were  forcibly  taken,  and  which  should  always  remain  open 
for  their  descendants  desiring  to  return  there  in  peace.  Emi 
gration  from  America  would  be  welcomed,  and  newcomers 
might  establish  themselves  without  interference  from  any 
source. 

The  emancipated  negroes  in  the  United  States,  of  whom 
President  Booker  T.  Washington  truthfully  says,  "there 
cannot  be  found  in  the  civilized  or  uncivilized  world  a  like 


400  The  Negro  Problem 

number  of  negroes  whose  economic,  educational,  moral 
and  religious  life  is  so  advanced  as  that  of  the  ten  million 
negroes  within  this  country,"  are  in  reality  exiles  from 
their  natural  home,  through  the  operations  of  the  slave- 
trade  in  which  Great  Britain  and  this  country  were  the  active 
participants,  and  they,  as  well  as  the  civilized  world,  should 
recognize  that  they  have  a  moral  and  political  right,  indeed, 
an  undying  interest,  in  securing  a  home  in  the  continent 
which  must  always  be  regarded  as  their  fatherland. 

To  this  there  seems  to  be  at  present  but  one  growing 
obstacle.  By  virtue  of  the  international  conference  upon 
African  affairs  held  in  Berlin  in  1885,  the  assem- 
bled  powers  adopted  certain  regulations  for  the 
securing  of  peace,  independence,  and  prosperity 
to  the  people  of  the  Congo  Free  State.  The  United  States 
participated,  and  gave  its  assent  to  the  conclusions  of  the 
conference,  and  has  at  all  times  the  right,  and  is  under  the 
obligation  of  duty,  to  interpose  to  see  that  the  liberties,  bene 
fits,  and  advantages  of  the  regulations  established  by  the 
conference  are  secured  to  the  people  of  the  Free  State  of 
the  Congo. 

The  general  administration  of  this  rich  territory,  by  some 
strange  misadventure,  was  confided  to  King  Leopold  of 
Belgium,  and  the  world  knows  with  what  absolute  disregard, 
not  merely  of  the  plainest -principles  of  enlightened  govern 
ment,  but  of  the  common  dictates  of  humanity,  he  has  con 
ducted  for  his  own  personal  gain  the  administration  of  that 
unfortunate  community.  Leopold  was  never  legally  con 
stituted  a  sovereign  of  the  Congo  Free  State,  nor  given  any 
thing  more  than  a  general  power  of  guardianship  over  its 
people.  He  has  prostituted  his  trust  for  his  own  advantage, 
and  without  scruple  has  neglected  the  duties  imposed  upon 
him,  and  countenanced  atrocities  committed  for  his  financial 
benefit.  As  a  result  of  the  combined  protests  of  the  civilized 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          401 

nations  King  Leopold  has  at  last  abdicated  the  quasi-sov- 
ereignty  which  he  assumed  to  exercise  over  the  Congo  Free 
State,  and  the  Kingdom  of  Belgium  has  through  the  supine 
attitude  of  this  country  and  the  great  European  powers  been 
allowed  to  go  through  the  form  of  annexation  of  this  vast 
tract  of  territory.  Hereafter,  and  until  a  more  enlightened 
theory  of  world  politics  in  relation  to  the  control  of  African 
affairs  is  developed,  this  puny  kingdom,  scarcely  able  to 
maintain  its  own  independent  national  existence,  will  in 
form  at  least  be  permitted  to  shape  the  destinies  of  the  Congo 
region. 

Belgian  control  will,  however,  be  only  nominal,  as  the  great 
powers  cannot  so  easily  relinquish  their  trusteeship,  and 
will  be  compelled  by  public  opinion  to  hold  that  nation  to  a 
strict  accountability  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  may  choose 
to  rule  this  dependent  territory.  A  return  to  the  tyrannous 
practices  of  the  greedy  King  Leopold  will  never  be  permitted. 
The  contemplated  reforms  in  the  administration  of  the  Congo 
Free  State  will  be  insisted  upon,  especially  by  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  and  nothing  would  more  effect 
ually  operate  to  enlist  the  interest  and  sympathy  of  the 
civilized  world  in  the  regeneration  of  the  natives  than 
the  introduction  of  a  considerable  element  of  industrious 
American  negroes  trained  in  the  methods  of  Hampton  and 
Tuskegee. 

In  any  event,  the  civilized  nations  of  Europe  and  the 
United  States  will  still  control  the  destinies  of  the  Congo 
Free  State,  and  exercise  a  guardianship  over  its  affairs. 
This  country,  in  the  plenitude  of  its  strength  and  actuated 
by  the  humane  motives  which  characterize  its  people,  should 
co-operate  with  the  other  civilized  nations  in  resuming  effec 
tive  control,  and,  after  first  remedying  the  abuses  which 
have  shocked  the  moral  sense  of  the  world,  should  follow 
by  securing  for  the  negro  people  of  this  country  opportunity 
26 


402  The  Negro  Problem 

to  return  to  the  land  whence  their  fathers  came,  rendering 
to  those  desiring  to  go  the  assistance  necessary  to  enable 
them  to  take  advantage  of  the  magnificent  opportunities  for 
development  existing  in  that  favored  region. 

The  educated  and  intelligent  negro  who  aspires  to  lead 
ership  of  his  people  should  regard  the  opportunity  afforded 
them  to  settle  in  the  Congo  Free  State  at  once  as 
r     a  ^uty  to  the  higher  interests  of  the  race  and  as 


Negro  a  privilege  of  the  rarest  character.  Present 
Leadership.  . 

'    conditions  indicate  that  the  mutual  jealousy  of 

the  greater  European  powers  which  has  resulted  in  the  little 
Kingdom  of  Belgium  acquiring  complete  control  of  this  tract 
so  richly  endowed  by  bounteous  nature  will  not  indefinitely 
continue.  While  a  petty  European  government  takes  posses 
sion  of  their  birthright,  ten  million  American  negroes  impa 
tiently  endure  disfranchisement,  ostracism,  "Jim  Crow" 
cars,  and  all  the  whips  and  scorns  of  time,  awaiting  leader 
ship  of  intelligence  and  courage  to  conduct  them  into 
this  field  of  golden  opportunity. 

What  may  be  done  by  trained  and  scientific  negroes  for 
the  regeneration  of  this  Congo  country  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  following  extract  from  a  recent  address  of  President 
Booker  T.  Washington: 

Some  six  years  ago  a  group  of  Tuskegee  graduates  and 
former  students  went  to  Africa  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
the  natives  in  a  certain  territory  of  West  Africa  training 
in  methods  of  raising  American  cotton.  They  did  not  go 
there  primarily  as  missionaries,  nor  was  their  chief  end 
the  conversion  of  those  pagans  to  Christianity.  Naturally, 
they  began  their  work  by  training  the  natives  how  to 
cultivate  their  land  differently,  how  to  plant  the  crop  and 
when  to  harvest  it,  and  gradually  taught  them  how  to  use 
a  small  hand  gin  in  getting  the  cotton  ready  for  market. 

Largely  through  the  leadership  of  this  group  of  Tuskegee 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          403 

students,  there  is  shipped  from  this  section  of  Africa  to  the 
Berlin  markets  each  year  many  bales  of  cotton.  The 
natives  have  learned,  through  the  tea-chings  of  these  men, 
to  grow  more  cotton  and  better  cotton.  They  have  learned 
to  use  their  time,  have  learned  that  by  working  systemat 
ically  and  regularly  they  can  increase  their  income  and 
thus  add  to  their  independence  and  supply  their  wants. 
Not  only  this,  but  in  order  that  these  people  might  be 
fitted  for  continuous  and  regular  service  in  the  cotton 
fields,  their  houses  have  been  improved,  and  the  natives 
have  been  taught  how  to  take  better  care  of  their  bodies. 
In  a  word,  during  the  years  that  these  Tuskegee  people 
have  been  in  the  community  they  have  improved  the  entire 
economic,  industrial,  and  physical  life  of  the  people  in  this 
immediate  territory.  The  result  is,  as  one  man  stated 
when  on  his  last  visit  to  Tuskegee,  that  there  is  little  diffi 
culty  now  in  getting  the  children  of  these  people  to  attend 
Sunday  School,  and  the  older  people  to  attend  church; 
in  fact,  in  a  natural,  logical  manner  they  have  been  con 
verted  to  the  idea  that  the  religion  practised  by  the  Tus 
kegee  men  is  superior  to  their  own.  They  believe  this 
firmly,  because  they  have  seen  that  better  results  have 
been  produced  when  they  work  under  the  Christian  in 
fluence  of  these  Tuskegee  men  than  had  been  produced 
when  they  had  no  such  leadership.  If  these  Tuskegee 
people  had  gone  there  as  missionaries  of  the  old  type  and 
had  confined  themselves  to  the  abstract  teachings  of  the 
Bible  alone,  in  my  opinion,  it  would  have  required  many 
years  to  have  brought  about  the  results  which  have  been 
attained  within  a  few  years. 

Surely  the  negro  has  in  this  African  land  of  possibilities 
a  field  which  offers  opportunities  to  him  such  as  never  can 
be  found  in  his  present  surroundings  in  the  United  States. 
But  while  the  Congo  Free  State  is  admirably  suited  for 
colonization  purposes  and  the  resultant  progress  toward 
the  advantageous  settlement  of  the  problem,  it  is  by  no 


404  The  Negro  Problem 

means  the  only  section  of  this  rich  African  continent  where 
the  negro  may  find  an  asylum  from  oppression  and  a  fa 
vorable  opportunity  for  promoting  his  material  interests. 

Liberia  offers  even  better  immediate  prospects  for  the 
negro's  return  to  the  land  of  his  forefathers.  Here  is  in 
existence  a  well  established  independent  African 
republic,  open  to  the  immigration  of  all  mem 
bers  of  the  race,  where  they  are  cordially  welcomed  and 
immediately  admitted  to  participation  in  the  government  of 
the  country.  Adequately  to  present  the  inducements  which 
this  territory  offers  to  the  aspiring  negro  would  require  chap 
ters  of  this  work.  There  he  would  find  not  only  natural 
resources  from  which  he  could  obtain  an  early  reward  for 
his  industry,  bounded  only  by  the  limits  of  his  enterprise, 
ability,  and  application,  but  as  a  foundation  for  permanent 
success  he  would  enter  a  well  organized  community  possess 
ing  a  language  and  governmental  system  with  which  he  is 
already  familiar. 

Let  us  briefly  consider  the  history  and  resources  of  this 
country,  which  for  nearly  a  century  has  been  maintained 
as  a  distinctively  African  state. 

Liberia  lies  upon  the  southwest  coast  of  Africa,  a  few 
degrees  north  of  the  Equator,  and  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  Atlantic  ports  of  this  country  as  the  British  Isles. 
It  embraces  some  forty-three  to  forty-five  thousand  square 
miles  of  territory,  being  thus  about  the  area  of  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  population  is  variously  estimated  at 
from  1,500,000  to  2,000,000,  divided  into  three  classes: — 
(i)  The  immigrants  from  America  and  their  descendants, 
forming  the  intelligent  governing  class,  and  numbering  about 
12,000  souls.  (2)  The  civilized  natives,  who  participate  in 
the  government  and  have  embraced  the  Christian  religion, 
to  the  number  of  about  40,000.  (3)  The  native  and  un 
civilized  negro  tribes,  Mandingos  and  others,  comprising  the 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          405 

remainder  of  the  population.  These  latter,  while  not  of  a 
very  high  grade  of  present  advancement  in  civilization,  are  of 
a  superior  type  of  native  negro  character. 

The  country  itself  is  rich  in  natural  resources,  and  ex 
cepting  upon  some  portions  of  the  coast,  the  climate  is  far 
from  being  unhealthful.  Even  under  prevailing  unsanitary 
conditions,  the  natives  display  conditions  of  excellent  physical 
development,  and  after  acclimation  immigrants  maintain 
an  average  of  health  at  least  as  good  as  that  of  the  negroes  in 
this  country. 

Sir  Harry  Johnston,  G.C.,  M.G.,  K.C.B.,  a  distinguished 
English  traveller  and  explorer,  has  made  in  recent  years  an 
exhaustive  study  of  the  geography  and  resources  of  the 
country,  its  flora  and  fauna,  its  people,  languages,  and 
climatic  conditions.  The  results  of  his  investigation  are 
embodied  in  two  large,  handsomely  illustrated  volumes, 
published  in  1906,  entitled  Liberia.  From  this  work  it 
abundantly  appears  that  the  country  has  remarkable  fertility 
and  is  admirably  adapted  to  sustain  a  large  population. 
Properly  tilled  and  cultivated,  drained  and  cleared,  he  says 
it  would  support  a  population  of  twenty  millions.  If  the 
numerous  photographs  taken  by  the  eminent  author,  and 
presented  in  his  work,  correctly  represent  their  subjects, 
there  need  be  no  apprehension  as  to  the  capacity  of 
Liberia  to  produce  fine  physical  specimens  of  the  human 
family. 

Its  forests  contain  valuable  timbers;  the  world  produces 
no  better  rubber,  dye-woods,  and  ivory;  the  yellow  palm  is 
abundant,  and  coffee  and  cotton  return  excellent  crops  when 
intelligently  cultivated.  Sir  Harry  has  nothing  but  praise 
for  the  resources  of  the  soil,  and  says  the  recent  progress 
of  the  country  is  not  to  be  despised,  as  its  negro  administrators 
have  proved  their  capacity  for  self-government.  "Let  us," 
he  says,  "claim  for  Liberia  at  least  another  half-century  of 


406  The  Negro  Problem 

trial  before  the  world  in  congress  pronounces  decisively  upon 
the  success  or  failure  of  the  experiment." 

In  this  experiment  the  negroes  of  the  United  States  should 
be  vitally  interested.  Established  in  1816  by  the  American 
Colonization  Society  as  a  refuge  for  freedmen  from  America, 
without  official  assistance  of  any  kind  in  surmounting  the 
tremendous  difficulties  of  early  settlement, — certainly  those 
who  out  of  such  small  beginnings  have  wrought  such  enduring 
results  should  be  an  inspiration  to  the  members  of  their  own 
race  in  their  efforts  to  establish  an  orderly  and  prosperous 
republic  where  the  negro  may  show,  under  his  own  govern 
ment,  of  what  he  is  capable  in  the  way  of  civilization.  If, 
in  the  last  century,  a  few  devoted  negroes,  with  but  little 
assistance,  under  such  discouraging  circumstances,  have 
succeeded  in  establishing  and  maintaining  an  independent 
negro  government  on  the  shores  of  Africa,  who  can  estimate 
the  effect  upon  this  colony  of  an  influx,  within  the  next  two 
decades,  of  two  or  three  million  of  enterprising,  industrious, 
and  to  some  extent  trained  and  educated  American  ne 
groes,  bringing  with  them  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  in 
resources  and  the  protection  of  the  strongest,  richest,  and 
most  enlightened  government  on  the  face  of  the  earth? 

If  such  an  opportunity  offered  to  the  negro  to  establish 
himself  in  a  country  of  this  character  would  not  induce  him 
to  take  a  chance  in  the  world,  to  make  a  display  of  the  man 
hood  and  womanhood  of  the  race,  to  encourage  his  well 
wishers  and  to  silence  his  detractors,  then  we  must  indeed 
be  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  he  deems  himself  wanting 
in  those  qualities  of  order,  ability,  and  patriotism  necessary 
for  the  maintenance  of  a  self-governing  state. 

Further,  the  United  States  is  definitely  enlisted  in  the 
prosperity  and  development  of  Liberia.  It  is,  as  the  late 
ex-President  Grover  Cleveland  said  in  referring  to  it  in  one 
of  his  official  messages  to  Congress,  an  offshoot  of  our 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?  407 

American  system.  It  represents  the  outcome  of  a  spirit 
of  devoted  effort  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  the  African 
people,  and  for  this  country  to  allow  this  advance  post  of 
negro  civilization  and  independence,  established  under  these 
circumstances,  to  be  abandoned,  and  its  territory  to  be  appro 
priated  by  other  nations,  would  be  virtually  a  confession  on 
our  part  of  the  utter  futility  of  any  effort  to  advance  the  con 
dition  of  the  negro  race. 

The  seal  of  Liberia  bears  as  its  motto:  "THE  LOVE  OF 
LIBERTY  BROUGHT  Us  HERE."  Does  the  American  negro 
really  desire  liberty?  Is  he  not,  as  a  matter  of 
th^Negro  stern  reality,  better  satisfied  protestingly  to  remain 
Libert  ?  m  ^s  country  as  a  subject  and  subordinate  race 
than  to  encounter  the  trials  and  hazards  inci 
dent  to  the  attempt  to  better  his  fortunes  in  Africa  or  else 
where?  On  the  answer  to  these  questions  depends  the 
proper  solution  of  the  problem  under  discussion. 

Africa  invites  her  children  to  return.  In  her  forests  and 
mines,  upon  her  grassy  plateaus  and  fertile  hill  slopes,  down 
her  broad  rivers  and  across  her  gleaming  lakes,  the  world 
will  be  called  upon  to  witness  the  most  marvellous  trans 
formation  of  the  twentieth  century.  Railroad  construction 
and  steamer  traffic  extension  will  soon  bring  her  remotest 
corners  into  touch  with  the  civilized  world.  Modern  en 
gineering,  the  increased  employment  of  electricity,  and  the 
use  of  improved  agricultural  machinery  will  utilize  the  riches 
of  her  forests  and  develop  the  resources  of  her  teeming 
soil. 

The  advances  in  medical  science,  improved  methods  of 
sanitation,  and  more  carefully  supervised  hygienic  conditions 
will  extirpate  causes  of  disease,  promote  comfort,  and  insure 
such  beneficent  results  as  have  followed  the  sanitary  regu 
lation  of  the  Panama  Canal  zone.  The  native  races  will  be 
presented  with  the  alternative  of  submitting  to  the  require- 


408  The  Negro  Problem 

ments  of  civilization  or  ceasing  to  exist,  as  enlightened 
opinion  will  not  tolerate  the  continuance  of  their  present 
condition  of  savagery  tempered  by  slavery.  In  a  word,  the 
age-long  problem  of  the  material  and  intellectual  regeneration 
of  Africa  is  on  for  solution.  What  part  is  the  American  negro 
to  play  in  this  tremendous  drama? 

What  this  important  conjuncture  in  the  history  of  the 
negro  race  demands  is  leadership.  Here  lies  the  opportunity 
for  some  exalted  spirit  to  rise  to  the  height  of  the  great  argu 
ment  and  to  assume  the  position  of  adviser  and  director  of 
his  people.  The  representative  of  the  negro  men  and  women 
in  this  country  who  could  induce  the  willing,  but  timid  and 
uninstructed  members  of  his  people,  to  abandon  the  hopeless 
effort  to  achieve  the  impossible,  and  by  accepting  the  policy 
of  assisted  emigration  to  correct  the  mistakes  of  the  centuries, 
would  secure  for  himself  high  position  in  the  permanent 
Hall  of  Fame.  With  Moses,  Charlemagne,  William  the 
Silent,  Washington,  Bolivar,  and  Garibaldi,  his  rank  among 
the  great  figures  of  history,  heroes  of  the  nations,  benefactors 
of  mankind,  would  be  assured. 

For,  if  the  negro  loves  freedom,  seeks  liberty,  and  yearns 
for  social  equality,  in  this  way  and  in  no  other  may  they 
be  acquired.  "Who  would  be  free,  themselves  must  strike 
the  blow.''  Through  the  past  ages  of  the  martyrdom  of 
man  the  blow  required  was  -physical;  the  effort  for  freedom 
must  be  made  with  arms  in-  hand  against  the  tyrant's  power. 
With  the  American  negro  at  the  present  hour  the  needed 
effort  is  one  of  moral  and  spiritual  quality.  Emancipation 
from  physical  slavery  did  but  little  for  him  if  his  mind  remains 
in  intellectual  bondage. 

To  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty,  education,  and  equality 
denied  him  in  this  country,  the  negro  needs  but  the  weapons 
of  courage,  fortitude,  strength,  and  tenacity  of  purpose,  and, 
in  addition,  the  possession  of  that  spiritual  discernment  which 


Where  Is  the  Negro  to  Go  ?          409 

will  enable  him  to  look  beyond  the  dangers  and  difficulties 
of  his  present  situation,  and  clearly  to  perceive  in  mental 
vision  the  possibilities  awaiting  his  race  in  the  African 
Fatherland. 


CHAPTER  IV 

OBJECTIONS  TO  BE  CONSIDERED 

Our  doubts  are  traitors, 

And  make  us  lose  the  good  we  oft  might  win, 
By  fearing  to  attempt. 

Measure  for  Measure. 

F^VOUBTLESS  Lincoln  found  objectors  to  his  plan  of 
*-J  compensated  emancipation  followed  by  colonization. 
We  have  no  record  of  any  of  his  discussions  upon  the  subject 
except  the  one  with  General  Butler  already  quoted,  but 
beyond  question  in  his  consultations  with  intimate  friends, 
perhaps  with  Seward,  Chase,  and  Montgomery  Blair,  ob 
jections  to  the  project,  as  impracticable  on  account  of  expense 
or  for  other  reasons,  were  presented.  None  of  these,  how 
ever,  appears  to  have  shaken  his  faith  in  the  feasibility  of  the 
proposition. 

Objections  there  are,  of  course — objections  of  sentiment, 
objections   of  interest,   objections  of  ignorance,   objections 

Character  °^  mere  mert^a-  Did  none  °f  tnese  exist>  ^e 
of  9b-  plan  of  Lincoln  would  have  been  long  since 
adopted  and  executed,  and  the  country  would 
to-day  be  rejoicing  in  the  result  of  the  solution  of  the  problem. 
The  principal  objections  likely  to  be  urged  in  opposition 
to  the  adoption  of  any  radical  and  far-reaching  solution  of 
the  negro  problem  are  those  originating  in  the  lack  of  under 
standing  of  the  momentous  character  of  the  question  involved, 
and  in  the  natural  inertia  of  a  people  engrossed  in  the  pursuit 
of  their  individual  enterprises,  and  entirely  oblivious  to  the 

410 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          411 

present  necessity  of  adopting  a  concerted  policy  in  regard 
to  the  future  of  the  negro  race. 

Further  than  this,  as  the  proposed  plan  involves  a  com 
plete  change  of  thought  in  regard  to  the  question  from  that 
hitherto  prevailing  either  in  the  North  or  in  the  South,  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  it  will  fail  to  encounter  opposition 
from  those  wedded  to  extremely  conservative  views  upon  this 
as  well  as  upon  other  questions  demanding  liberality  of 
treatment. 

However,  we  are  fortunately  not  without  conspicuous 
examples  of  complete  changes  of  national  thought  in  relation 
to  affairs  of  great  moment  in  our  development.  Our  entire 
national  progress  has  been  marked  by  an  orderly  transition 
from  a  loosely  associated  community  of  discordant  states 
to  a  system  of  centralized  governmental  authority.  Within 
the  past  half-century  we  have  abandoned  the  primitive 
theory  of  securing  efficient  railway  transportation  by  a  pro 
cess  of  competitive  development,  and  adopted  in  its  place 
a  system  of  governmental  supervision  and  regulation  as 
better  adapted  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  purposes  of  our 
national  highways.  In  like  manner,  compelled  by  the  very 
necessities  of  our  development,  we  have  abandoned  our 
original  theory  of  the  establishment  of  a  policy  of  isolation 
in  respect  to  the  other  nations  of  the  earth,  and  have  assumed 
our  rightful  position  as  one  of  the  influential  world  powers, 
accepting  duties  and  responsibilities  impossible  of  evasion. 
If,  as  the  writer  maintains,  experience  has  conclusively 
demonstrated  the  futility  of  longer  attempting  to  solve  the 
negro  problem  upon  the  lines  heretofore  principally  dis 
cussed,  to  persevere  in  the  effort  for  the  sake  of  consistency 
would  certainly  be  a  course  of  conduct  unworthy  of  an 
intelligent  people. 

Now,  while  the  proposed  plan,  based  upon  Lincoln's 
theory  for  the  solution  of  the  problem,  is  not  claimed  to  be 


The  Negro  Problem 

of  novel  character,  it  may  confidently  be  asserted  that  such 
a  proposition  has  never  yet  reached  the  stage  of  general 
discussion,  and  so  far  as  known,  the  objections  urged  against 
its  feasibility  have  never  been  subjected  to  the  scrutiny 
necessary  to  determine  their  validity.  In  a  word,  whenever 
the  proposition  has  been  tentatively  presented,  those  who  by 
reason  of  insufficient  reflection  upon  the  subject  or  on  con 
siderations  of  self-interest  have  opposed  its  adoption  on 
account  of  its  alleged  impracticability,  lacking  sufficient 
argument  to  establish  conviction  upon  that  point,  have  con 
tented  themselves  by  endeavoring  to  dispose  of  the  subject 
by  a  passing  phrase.  Instances  may  be  cited  from  current 
discussion. 

The    Reverend    Washington    Gladden    characterizes    all 

schemes  of  colonization  as  "idiotic."  Mr.  Charles  A.  Gard 

ner  pronounces  them  "  visionary  and  chimerical." 

The.  President   Charles   W.    Eliot,    of  Harvard,   says 

favorably     "they  are  not  desirable."     Thomas  Nelson  Page 


separation  is  "Utopian."  Ex-Governor 
William  D.  Jelks,  of  Alabama,  in  like  manner, 
pronounces  colonization  "idiotic."  Professor  William  E. 
Burghardt  DuBois  employs  the  adjective  "unthinkable." 
Professor  Kelly  Miller  denounces  such  plans  as  the  "climax 
of  absurdity."  President  Booker  T.  Washington  sees 
"insurmountable  obstacles"  attending  the  exodus  of  his 
race,  and  says  that  any  project  of  colonization  is  "chi 
merical."  The  Honorable  William  H.  Fleming  writes  that 
"physical  facts  alone  prevent  deportation."  Mr.  Gilchrist 
Stewart  says  the  project  is  "absolutely  impossible."  "Ut 
terly  fatuous,"  said  President-elect  Taft  in  his  speech  at  the 
North  Carolina  dinner  in  New  York,  December  7,  1908, 
evidently  having  given  but  cursory  thought  to  the  proposition. 
Mr.  George  S.  Merriam,  at  the  close  of  his  discussion,  some 
what  hysterically  concludes  that  "colonization  is  impossible.  " 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          413 

Ray  Stannard  Baker,  whose  careful  study  of  the  problem 
should  have  led  him  to  the  truth,  dismisses  the  subject  in 
a  paragraph  as  "extraordinary."  And  so,  in  varying 
phrases  of  rejection,  but  without  offering  reasons  therefor, 
these  and  others  who  should  be  best  qualified  to  pass  en 
lightened  judgment  on  the  subject  under  inquiry  array 
themselves  in  opposition  to  the  project  which  to  Lincoln 
seemed  so  reasonable  and  beneficent. 

Let  us,  therefore,  devote  some  serious  consideration  to  the 
various  objections  against  this  radical  and  admittedly 
effective  solution  of  the  problem,  which  in  one  fo>m  or 
another  are  urged  as  insurmountable.  On  close  examina 
tion,  they  will  be  found  to  arrange  themselves  in  two  classes : 

First, — Objections  directed  against  the  nature  of  the 
solution  itself,  either  attacking  it  as  to  its  equitable  char 
acter  or  questioning  the  possibility  of  its  execution;  and 

Second, — Objections  relating  to  the  difficulty  of  securing 
the  acceptance  of  the  proposed  solution  by  the  American 
people,  and  to  putting  it  into  operation,  based  either  upon 
the  assumed  indifference  of  the  whole  people  or  the  fancied 
interests  of  those  likely  to  be  injured  by  its  operation. 


Taking  up  first  in  natural  order  those  objections  which 
may  be  advanced  against  the  justice  and  feasibility  of  the 

proposed  solution,  we  find  them  to  be  in  general 
Objections    J 

as  to  as  follows: 

Jus  ice.  ^  rpQ  a  certajn  ciass  of  minds  the  proposition 

of  deportation  in  any  form  will  present  itself  as  inherently 
wrong  as  contemplating  a  violation  of  the  primary  rights 
of  the  individual  negroes  now  enjoying  the  privilege  of 
citizenship  in  our  country.  If  it  indeed  be  the  case  that  the 
proposed  solution  involves  the  violation  of  human  rights,  and 
that  any  scheme  of  assisted  emigration  necessitates  wrong- 


414  The  Negro  Problem 

doing  toward  the  African  race,  then,  of  course,  this  con 
sideration  would  end  the  whole  matter.  What,  then,  are 
the  rights  of  the  negro  in  this  country,  and  how  are  they 
in  any  way  superior  to  the  rights  of  the  white  man  where 
the  interests  of  the  two  races  come  into  unavoidable  conflict  ? 

If  the  white  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
and  in  this  case  the  overwhelming  majority,  in  numbers  and 
in  wealth,  intellectual  culture,  enterprise,  indeed,  in  every 
thing  that  combines  to  constitute  good  citizenship,  determine, 
with  the  assent  of  the  more  intelligent  members  of  the  negro 
minority,  that  it  is  better  for  this  peculiar  and  unassimilable 
race  to  live  apart,  wherein  can  there  be  found  any  violation 
of  human  rights?  There  certainly  will  be  none,  if  the 
general  consent  of  the  members  of  the  negro  race  can  be 
obtained  to  the  scheme  for  their  separate  establishment. 
And  certainly  none  of  the  proposed  features  of  the  remedy, 
save  the  suggestion  that  in  the  remote  possibility  of  an  in 
considerable  residue  refusing  to  accept  the  opportunity  for 
colonization,  provision  should  be  made  for  their  enforced 
removal  from  the  country,  can  be  considered  as  being  in  any 
way  violative  of  what  are  loosely  designated  as  the  natural 
rights  of  mankind. 

If  the  preponderating  numbers  of  the  negro  race  decline 
to  accept  such  arrangements  as  may  be  made  for  their  future 
welfare  through  assisted  emigration  and  by  requiring  them 
to  live  apart  from  the  white  population,  and  desire  to  remain 
in  this  country  decitizenized,  and  under  conditions  which 
safeguard  the  welfare  and  improvement  of  the  Caucasian 
race,  the  project  inevitably  fails.  No  sufficient  means  are 
at  hand  to  effect  the  coerced  removal  of  ten  million  people. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  great  majority  of  the  race  assent 
to  the  proposed  solution,  and  accept  assistance  to  remove 
themselves  to  more  favorable  climes  and  to  embrace  their 
more  advantageous  opportunities,  can  it  be  justly  said  that 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          415 

to  require  the  remainder,  presumably  those  least  qualified 
to  maintain  a  separate  racial  existence,  also  to  take  their 
departure  to  some  designated  locality,  would  be  a  violation 
of  any  natural  right? 

We  have,  fortunately,  an  established  precedent  in  this  coun 
try  for  such  removal.  In  the  early  years  of  the  last  century 
it  was  found  that  the  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  portions  of 
North  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Alabama  were  inimical  to  the 
white  settlers,  and  that  their  possession  of  fertile  but  un 
developed  tracts  of  country  militated  against  the  progress 
of  the  enterprising  people  desiring  to  make  that  region  their 
home.  The  National  Government,  acting  in  conjunction 
with  the  states,  made  provision  for  the  removal  of  these  mis 
placed  occupants  beyond  the  Mississippi  to  what  has  since 
become  the  flourishing  state  of  Oklahoma.  The  project 
was  bitterly  antagonized  upon  the  same  sentimental  grounds 
now  advanced  to  discourage  the  deportation  of  the  negro. 
Notwithstanding  this  irrational  opposition,  the  removal 
of  the  Indians  was  accomplished,  and  the  action  of  the 
government  is  now  accepted  by  all  to  have  been  a  wise  and 
statesmanlike  solution  of  a  serious  problem,  which,  at  the 
time,  threatened  injuriously  to  affect  the  prosperity  of  a 
large  section  of  the  country.  Let  us  never  for  a  moment 
assume  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  will  take  any 
step  in  relation  to  this,  or  any  other  matter  demanding  ad 
justment,  which  is  not  justified  by  the  highest  principles  of 
equity  and  national  morality. 

(2)  The  principal  objection  currently  urged  against  all 
propositions  looking  to  the  colonization  of  the  negro  race 
The  Ob'e  ^s  ^e  enormous  expense  involved  in  the  execu 
tion  of  tion  of  any  project  of  this  character.  At  the 
present  stage  of  discussion,  to  most  minds  this 
presents  an  insuperable  obstacle.  The  subject  has  been 
given  careful  discussion  in  a  preceding  chapter,  and  the 


4i  6  The  Negro  Problem 

writer  believes  that  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  the  plan 
of  Lincoln  may  be  carried  out  without  involving  any  in 
ordinate  drain  upon  the  resources  of  the  nation. 

It  is  futile  to  attempt  to  disguise  the  fact  that  to  ar 
range  for  the  transportation  of  ten  millions  of  human 
beings  from  this  continent  to  other  lands,  even  within  a 
period  of  twenty-five  years,  is  an  undertaking  of  arduous 
and  expensive  character.  Their  establishment  and  pro 
tection  in  their  new  home  would  likewise  entail  liberal 
expenditures  and  the  assumption  of  serious  international 
obligations. 

But  it  is  confidently  asserted  that  no  matter  what  outlay 
the  execution  of  the  project  might  require,  the  benefits 
immediately  accruing  would  afford  abundant  compensation. 
It  cannot  be  argued  that  the  resources  of  the  nation  are 
inadequate  to  put  the  plan  in  operation.  It  would  require 
the  appropriation  of  but  a  small  part  of  the  revenues 
of  the  country  to  this  object  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  successful 
issue.  And  measuring  the  element  of  expense  either  by 
the  experience  of  the  past,  the  exigencies  of  the  present, 
or  the  prospects  of  the  future,  the  proposed  solution  of 
the  problem  is  far  more  economical  than  any  other  that 
the  wit  of  man  can  devise.  Let  us  give  the  past  some 
consideration. 

From  the  very  origin  of  our  nationality,  the  negro  has 
been  an  expensively  injurious  element  in  our  industrial 
development.  In  his  work  on  The  Impending  Crisis  of 
the  South,  published  in  1857,  Hinton  Rowan  Helper  graph 
ically  pointed  out  how  the  introduction  of  the  negro  had 
retarded  the  development  of  that  section;  and  in  a  former 
chapter  of  this  work  the  effort  was  made  to  demonstrate 
the  continuing  deleterious  effect  of  his  presence  upon  all 
parts  of  the  country.  It  is  common  knowledge  that  the 
introduction  of  the  race  into  this  country,  and  that  alone, 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          417 

brought  about  the  Civil  War,  with  its  incalculable  waste 
of  life  and  treasure.  The  word  "incalculable"  is  advisedly 
chosen,  because  we  have  no  adequate  means  of  estimating 
the  tremendous  loss  to  the  country  resulting  from  that  un 
fortunate  conflict. 

Statistics  exhibiting  the  enormous  financial  cost  to  the 
nation  of  the  war  for  the  emancipation  of  the  negro  were 
presented  in  connection  with  the  estimate  of  the  expense 
of  the  proposed  undertaking  for  removal  in  the  chapter  on 
ways  and  means.  Including  the  payments  since  made  on 
account  of  pensions  and  interest  on  the  national  debt,  the 
actual  expenditure  of  money  would  approximate  $4000  for 
each  member  of  the  African  race  in  the  country  at  the  fall 
of  Fort  Sumter.  Nor  is  this  all.  The  money  loss,  great 
as  it  was,  constituted,  indeed,  but  the  smallest  part  of  what 
the  nation  sacrificed  in  that  gigantic  struggle.  The  loss 
of  mere  material  possessions  may  be  easily  repaired,  es 
pecially  in  a  new  and  fertile  land,  but  the  effect  of  the  loss 
of  the  best  blood  of  the  North  and  South,  so  freely  poured 
out  on  a  hundred  battle-fields,  can  never  be  measured  or  even 
made  the  subject  of  spiritual  estimate.  The  official  figures 
establish  the  fact  that  in  this  internecine  conflict  approxi 
mately  one  million  of  men  of  both  sections,  for  the  most  part 
youthful  and  ardent,  the  devoted  and  energetic  represen 
tatives  of  the  best  elements  of  American  citizenship,  yielded 
up  their  lives  in  support  of  the  principles  which  they 
advocated. 

The  desolated  plantations  of  the  South  and  the  lonely 
abandoned  farms  of  New  England  bear  eloquent  testimony 
to  the  unspeakable  sacrifice  made  by  the  nation  in  order 
to  work  out  the  emancipation  of  the  negro  race.  Let  us 
guard  well  that  the  unfinished  work  does  not  in  some 
like  manner  exact  further  toll  of  the  life  and  treasure  of 
the  nation. 
27 


418  The  Negro  Problem 

In  comparison  with  this  real  sacrifice  of  life  and  money, 
how  insignificant  appears  the  expense  necessary  to  insure 
our  nation  against  the  possibility  of  a  future  conflict  even 
more  desolating  than  that  of  our  Civil  War.  Surely,  this 
great  nation,  out  of  the  plenitude  of  its  resources,  could, 
without  the  slightest  financial  embarrassment,  devote  suffi 
cient  money  year  by  year  to  effect  within  the  next  three 
decades  the  removal  of  the  negro  race  upon  Lincoln's  cher 
ished  design. 

In  addition  to  the  reference  to  the  vast  expenditures  of 
life  and  property  occasioned  by  the  Civil  War,  fought 

solely  on  account  of  the  negro,  another  consid- 
Injunous 
Effect  of  the  eration  upon  that  subject  graphically  illustrates 

ttePast1  ^6  Permanent  injury  his  presence  has  caused 
to  the  development  of  the  United  States.  The 
utilization  of  our  magnificent  natural  resources  has  de 
pended  in  the  past,  and  will  for  some  time  yet  continue  to 
depend,  largely  upon  additions  to  our  population.  These 
result  from  two  sources,  —  first,  the  natural  increase  of 
the  resident  population,  and  secondly,  the  accession 
of  numbers  which  comes  by  immigration  from  foreign 
countries. 

From  the  inception  of  our  government  until  the  year 
1860,  the  increase  of  population  measured  by  decades 
had  been  very  regular  in  its  character,  and,  except  for 
the  wasteful  struggle  of  1861-1865,  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  it  would  not  have  continued  in  the 
same  approximate  ratio.  During  the  decade  of  1860  to 
1870  nothing  occurred  materially  to  affect  the  increase  of 
negro  population,  but  the  percentage  of  increase  in  the 
white  population  fell  from  an  average  of  35.4  to  24.8 
per  cent.  Upon  this  subject  the  following  instructive 
table  is  presented,  covering  the  period  from  1790  to 
1900: 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          419 

INCREASE  OF  WHITE  POPULATION 

PERIOD  INCREASE  PERCENTAGE 

1790-1800  1,134,440  35-8 

l8oo-l8lO  1,555,627  36.1 

1810—1820  2,004,724  34-2 

1820-1830  2,665,263  33.9 

1830-1840  3>657,645  34-7 

1840-1850  5. 363,363  37-8 

1850-1860  7,369,469  37-7 

1860-1870  6,666,840  24.8 

1870-1880  9,813,593  29.2 

1880-1890  11,698,288  27.0 

1890—1900  11,707,938  21.2 

Taking  the  average  increase  of  population  for  each  decade 
from  the  foundation  of  the  government  up  to  the  year  1860, 
we  find  it  to  have  been  35.4  per  cent.,  and  taking  into  con 
sideration  the  figures  shown  by  the  two  preceding  decades, 
it  is  unlikely  that  it  would  have  been  materially  less  during 
the  period  from  1860  to  1870.  The  Civil  War  caused  a 
diminution  of  nearly  13  per  cent,  in  the  rate  of  increase. 
Assuming  that  the  prevailing  ratio  of  increase  had  continued, 
the  addition  of  population  would  have  been  9,588,000  instead 
of  6,666,840,  showing  a  loss  of  2,928,000  due  entirely  to 
the  Civil  War  waged  on  account  of  the  negro  during  that 
decade. 

It  is  no  mere  casual  coincidence  that  the  census  of  1870 
should  reveal  a  falling  away  of  nearly  three  million  from 
the  normal  increase  of  the  white  population  of  the  United 
States.  At  least  four  million  men  of  youth  and  vigor,  the 
very  choicest  element  of  our  national  life,  were  removed  from 
home  surroundings  and  productive  industry  during  the 
years  of  the  war.  One  million  of  them  never  returned. 
Immigration  was  checked  almost  to  the  point  of  disap 
pearance.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  state  that  the  loss  of 
valuable  white  population  by  the  Civil  War  and  its  im- 


420  The  Negro  Problem 

mediate  consequences  was  greater  than  the  whole  number 
of  the  negroes  in  the  country  in  1861. 

It  is  easily  deducible  from  the  figures  of  the  foregoing  table 
that  the  needless  war  waged  for  the  emancipation  of  the 
negro  resulted  in  a  loss  of  millions  in  population  to  the  coun 
try,  with  the  attendant  retardation  of  its  industrial  devel 
opment.  The  South  has  been  the  greatest  loser  by  this 
unfortunate  state  of  affairs.  To  the  unprejudiced  observer 
it  is  manifest,  beyond  the  possibility  of  question,  that  the 
existence  of  the  negro  has  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  the 
cause  of  the  comparative  backwardness  of  that  section  in  its 
relation  to  the  general  development  of  the  country.  Shall 
we,  then,  continue  to  waste  valuable  time  in  discussing  an 
objection  founded  upon  the  comparatively  slight  expense 
to  be  incurred  in  effecting  this  removal,  when  its  ultimate 
result  will  undoubtedly  be  the  immediate  acceleration  of 
national  prosperity  and  the  return  of  double,  yea,  tenfold  the 
money  necessary  to  carry  out  the  project  ? 

The  question  of  the  general  effect  of  the  proposed  solution 
upon  the  development  of  the  South  especially,  and  in  general 
upon  the  other  portions  of  the  country,  will  be  given  con 
sideration  in  succeeding  chapters,  but  for  the  present  it 
suffices  to  say,  that  a  little  clear  thinking  upon  the  subject 
will  convince  the  unprejudiced  mind  that  whatever  expense 
may  be  involved  in  the  execution  of  Lincoln's  plan  is  not 
to  be  considered  in  comparison  with  the  benefits  which  would 
be  derived  from  its  fulfilment. 

(3)  An  objection  quite  frequently  advanced  is  that  there 
is  at  present  no  place  convenient  for  the  colonization  of  the 
Objections  negro  race,  no  country  in  which  colonies  could 
as  to  Place.  foe  safely  established  and  given  opportunity  for 
development.  The  general  discussion  of  the  place  to 
be  selected  has  been  made  the  subject  of  the  preceding 
chapter,  and  the  writer  believes  it  has  been  sufficiently 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          421 

established  that,  while  difficulties  exist  in  regard  to  this 
aspect  of  the  problem,  they  are  not  insurmountable.  Either 
by  the  operation  of  natural  choice  by  the  negro,  or  by  rights 
acquired  under  treaties  with  other  powers,  suitable  locations 
can  readily  be  selected,  where,  under  the  protection  and 
supervision  of  this  country,  one  or  more  colonies  may  be 
established,  in  which  the  negro  could  be  given  opportunity 
to  demonstrate  to  the  world  his  capacity  for  the  organization 
and  administration  of  the  affairs  of  his  race. 

(4)  Another  objection  currently  put  forth,  and  one  which 
from  past  experience  cannot  be  said  to  be  entirely  without 

foundation,  is  this: — that  no  matter  where  upon 
Objections 
as  to  the     the  face  of  this  great  revolving  globe  the  negro 

Safety8  niight  seek  to  establish  his  separate  nationality, 
and  no  matter  how  diligently  he  might  enter  upon 
the  endeavor  to  advance  his  independent  welfare,  he  would 
not  be  assured  of  safety  from  molestation  by  the  stronger 
peoples  of  the  world.  In  other  words,  not  to  put  too  fine  a 
point  upon  the  consideration  of  this  aspect  of  the  proposed 
solution,  it  is  asserted  that  if  upon  the  banks  of  the  Congo, 
along  the  Liberian  coast,  upon  the  great  undeveloped  island 
of  New  Guinea,  or  elsewhere,  he  should  undertake  the 
enterprise  of  laying  the  foundation  and  building  up  the 
superstructure  of  an  independent  negro  state,  England, 
France,  Germany,  or  some  other  powerful  nation  would  seek 
to  oppress  the  growing  people,  and  if  the  natural  resources 
of  the  country  of  his  selection  should  prove  to  be  of  valuable 
character,  he  would  be  unable  to  withstand  the  covetous 
assaults  of  the  robber  nations,  and  soon  become  a  prey  to 
superior  force. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  some  justification  for 
this  assertion.  We  find  it  illustrated  in  England's  dealings 
with  backward  and  weaker  nations  in  the  not  very  remote 
past.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  days  of  Cortes,  Clive, 


422  The  Negro  Problem 

and  Cecil  Rhodes  are  past,  and  that  the  future  will  witness  a 
change  of  sentiment  among  the  nations  in  regard  to  the  spolia 
tion  of  the  weak  by  the  strong.  In  addition  to  this,  wherever 
under  the  projected  arrangement  the  negro  would  be  estab 
lished,  he  would  be  protected  by  the  authority  of  the  United 
States  until  fully  launched  upon  his  new  career,  and  in  his 
new  position  would  be  as  strong  as  the  resources  of  the 
government  at  Washington  could  guarantee.  It  would  be 
only  after  his  experimental  government  had  acquired  that 
degree  of  stability  sufficient  to  enable  it  to  assume  its  position 
as  one  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  that  danger  of  this  char 
acter  might  be  apprehended.  Should  it  then  come,  the 
result  of  any  effort  to  deprive  him  of  independence  would 
depend  upon  the  qualifications  of  the  negro  himself. 

This,  indeed,  would  be  the  crux  of  the  problem  for  the 
race.  If,  after  such  an  establishment,  the  negro  should  be 
able  to  advance  himself  in  the  path  of  progress  and  to  give 
a  demonstration  to  the  world  of  his  capacity  for  civilization, 
he  would  be  safeguarded  by  the  moral  sentiment  of  all 
civilized  peoples,  and  need  fear  no  oppression.  If,  on  the 
contrary,  he  should  prove  unable  to  command  the  qualities 
of  progress, — if,  with  all  the  advantages  attendant  upon  such 
an  opportunity  for  national  development,  he  should  fall  back 
into  a  condition  of  savagery,  why,  then  the  world  belongs 
to  those  who  are  qualified  to  use  and  develop  its  resources. 
By  the  immutable  laws  of  nature,  incapacity  and  ineptitude 
must  invariably  give  place  to  ability  and  adaptation,  and 
in  such  event,  the  negro  problem  would  have  reached  its 
final  solution  by  the  demonstration  of  the  incapacity  of  the 
African  race  to  maintain  its  place  in  the  ever-onward  pro 
gression  of  the  civilized  nations. 

But  such  a  result  is  not  within  the  range  of  expectation. 
The  negro  would  not  be  subjected  to  such  apprehended 
oppression.  Hayti,  San  Domingo,  and  Liberia  have  each 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          423 

maintained  its  national  existence  for  many  years,  and  con 
stitute  a  standing  refutation  of  this  argument. 

II 

Let  us  now  proceed  in  orderly  discussion  to  consider  those 
objections  which  are  from  time  to  time  interposed,  and 
which,  while  assuming  that  the  plan  is  righteous  in  its  con 
ception  and  feasible  in  its  execution,  are  directed  to  the 
difficulty  of  persuading  the  American  people  to  adopt  a 
policy  of  assisted  emigration  and  colonization,  and  to  devote 
sufficient  time  and  money  to  the  necessary  work  of  carrying 
it  into  execution.  And  here,  it  must  be  confessed,  the  more 
serious  obstacles  arise. 

To  effect  a  radical  change  in  the  viewpoint  of  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  of  the  North,  and  those  of  the  South 
as  well,  who  have  some  comprehension  of  the  issues  in 
volved,  and  at  the  same  time  to  arouse  the  great  mass  of  inert 
and  indifferent  people  to  an  appreciation  of  the  gravity  of  the 
problem  and  the  necessity  of  an  immediate  solution,  presents, 
indeed,  an  exceedingly  arduous  task.  But  because  a  thing  is 
difficult,  is  it  not  to  be  attempted?  Because  certain  sub 
stantial  objections  may  be  urged  against  the  solution,  shall  we 
fall  back  upon  the  policy  of  negation  so  frequently  embodied  in 
the  phrase,  "Let  it  work  itself  out"?  Such  certainly  is  not 
the  course  to  be  pursued  by  a  resolute  and  intelligent  people. 

Let  us,  therefore,  proceed  to  examine  these  additional 
objections  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  how  far  they  are  of 
weight  and  by  what  means  they  may  be  overcome. 

(i)  At  the  outset  we  are  met  with  the  statement  that  THE 
NEGRO  WILL  NOT  GO.  It  is  said  that  no  matter  how  alluring 

may  be  the  prospects  placed  before  him  to  induce 
Would  the    ,  .  . 

Negro  Ac-    nim  to  emigrate,  and  no  matter  how  discouraging 

conditions  may  become  in  his  present  surround 
ings,  with  cat-like  fidelity  to  locality  he  will  cling 


424  The  Negro  Problem 

to  his  native  soil,  and  that  neither  by  the  prospect  of  ad 
vancement  nor  by  the  menace  of  extinction  can  the  race  be 
induced  to  favor  any  plan  looking  to  its  colonization. 

If  this  be  true,  then  assuredly  we  are  confronted  by  this 
astounding  paradox:  The  negro  complains,  alleging  that, 
North  and  South,  he  is  subjected  to  an  assertion  of  race 
inferiority,  at  once  galling  to  his  pride  and  fatal  to  his'  pros 
pects  of  industrial  advancement;  that  while  in  theory  he  is 
a  citizen,  endowed  with  equal  rights  and  privileges,  in  practice 
he  is  considered  unfit  to  associate  in  any  capacity  with  the 
majority  of  his  fellow-citizens;  that  the  members  of  his  race 
are  deprived  of  the  elective  franchise,  excluded  from  the 
jury  box,  and  made  the  victims  of  a  racial  animosity  "more 
fell  than  anguish,  hunger  or  the  sea";  that  the  men,  women, 
and  children  of  the  race  must  submit  to  humiliatingly  inferior 
accommodations  in  travel,  and  to  equally  humiliating  ex 
clusion  from  church,  theatre,  school,  museum,  or  other 
humanizing  agencies;  that  in  all  sections  of  the  land  his 
color  places  him  at  an  economic  disadvantage;  and  that  in 
the  lower  South  a  system  of  peonage,  of  which  he  is  the  victim, 
is  gradually  being  established,  virtually  relegating  him  to  a 
position  of  serfdom. 

He  further  complains,  and  alleges,  that  being  practically 
an  outlaw  and  denied  the  protection  of  the  regular  process 
of  law,  he  and  his  hold  their  rights  at  the  indulgence  of  the 
superior  race,  and  are  at  every  turn  subjected  to  a  capricious 
spirit  of  lawlessness  which  visits  upon  them,  unrestrained  and 
unpunished,  burnings,  whippings,  mutilation,  exile,  and  even 
death;  that  the  men  of  his  race  are  denounced  as  lazy,  dis 
honest,  and  inherently  incapable  of  progress,  and  the  women 
stigmatized  as  loose  in  morals  and  derided  as  being  not 
unwilling  to  submit  themselves  to  the  white  man's  lawless 
lust.  In  the  press  and  on  the  platform,  he  raises  a  bitter 
outcry  against  the  wrongs  and  indignities  thus  heaped  upon 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          425 

him;  and  yet  we  are  called  upon  to  believe,  in  the  face  of  all 
this  record  of  oppression  and  contumely,  that  he  is  contented 
to  remain  in  a  land  where  his  past  is  a  reproach,  his  present 
a  mortification,  and  his  future  unrelieved  by  a  ray  of  hope. 

Is  the  negro  indeed  so  pigeon  livered  ?  Does  he  lack  the 
gall  to  make  oppression  bitter  ?  It  is  contrary  to  all  human 
experience  to  believe  that  if  a  plan  of  assisted  emigration 
were  presented,  such  as  has  been  outlined  in  the  foregoing 
pages,  with  its  liberal  execution  assured  by  the  official 
strength  and  authority  of  the  United  States,  it  would  not  be 
extensively  embraced  by  the  members  of  the  negro  race. 
The  negro  is  naturally  desirous  of  bettering  his  condition, 
and  if  reasonable  opportunity  for  that  purpose  is  afforded 
him,  he  will  not  be  slow  in  availing  himself  of  its  benefits. 
If  he  is  assured  that  the  project  is  supported  by  ample  au 
thority,  that  no  expense  will  be  spared  to  carry  it  into  exe 
cution,  and  that  he  may  securely  rely  upon  the  continuing 
assistance  of  the  United  States  Government,  there  is  little 
reason  to  doubt  that  but  a  short  time  would  elapse  before 
the  great  majority  of  the  race  would  grasp  the  opportunity 
offered  for  their  betterment. 

The  inspiration,  however,  for  such  a  movement  will  come, 
as  it  always  does  come  in  the  great  spiritual  uplifts  of  the 
Leadership  Peoples>  from  the  rank  and  file  of  the  race,  and 

for  the  '  not  from  the  so-called  higher  classes  among  the 
Movement.  T  .,  ..,,,,. 

negroes.     It  was  not  the  privileged  and  favored 

priesthood  who  led  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the  house 
of  bondage  and  started  them  upon  their  epoch-making  career. 
It  took  many  miracles  to  induce  the  "leaders  and  officers" 
to  accept  the  plan  of  Moses  for  the  Exodus,  and  even  when 
the  plan  was  well  under  way,  Moses  and  Aaron  were  up 
braided  for  exposing  the  chosen  people  to  hardship  and 
danger. 

It  was  not  the  wealthy  and  comfortably  placed  landowners 


426  The  Negro  Problem 

and  office-holders  under  the  crown  who  led  the  people  in 
organizing  the  American  Revolution.  The  favored  few 
among  the  American  negroes,  those  who  by  reason  of  fortu 
nate  circumstances  have  found  their  lines  fallen  in  pleasant 
places,  and  whose  interest  in  the  problem  of  their  race  lies 
in  the  direction  of  the  satisfaction  of  their  personal  needs  and 
ambitions,  will  never  assume  the  leadership  of  a  movement 
requiring  them  to  expose  their  fortunes  to  the  hazard  of 
untried  enterprise. 

President  Booker  T.  Washington  would  probably  find  it 
much  more  to  his  liking  to  continue  his  lectures  at  Tuskegee, 
combined  with  an  occasional  visit  to  Northern  cities  to  present 
the  needs  of  his  institution,  there  to  be  banqueted  by  friends 
and  to  receive  the  well-earned  appreciative  notices  of  the 
press,  than  to  begin  the  work  of  laying  the  foundation  of  a 
branch  of  his  admirable  school  on  the  remote  shores  of 
Liberia,  or  of  sending  a  corps  of  his  pupils  to  open  the  way 
for  the  civilization  of  the  island  of  Hayti. 

Professor  DuBois  would  be  disinclined  to  leave  his  at 
tractive  literary  work  at  Atlanta  University  to  embark  in 
an  effort  to  lead  his  people  toward  higher  opportunities  for 
development  upon  a  foreign  shore.  Negro  clergymen  would 
not  be  likely  at  once  to  resign  their  comfortable  parish  sit 
uations  for  heroic  efforts  to  do  missionary  work  in  the  plains 
of  Central  Africa,  where  conditions  of  life  would  call  for  a 
more  strenuous  exercise  of  both  mental  and  physical  qualifica 
tions.  Negro  office-holders  under  the  Federal  Government 
with  comfortable  sinecures ;  negro  financiers  who  have  acquired 
a  competency;  people  generally  of  distinction  and  influence 
in  the  social  and  religious  circles  of  the  race,  may  loudly  ex 
postulate  against  the  ills  to  which  their  people  are  subjected; 
but  the  odor  of  the  fleshpots  of  Egypt  is  very  alluring,  and 
this  class,  small  in  numbers  but  naturally  strong  in  influence, 
will  doubtless  be  found  in  opposition  to  Lincoln's  plan. 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          427 

The  negro  is  not  a  pioneer.  His  spirit  does  not  readily 
lend  itself  to  enterprises  of  daring  and  hardihood.  There 
fore,  little  assistance  may  be  expected  from  the  present 
leaders  of  the  race  in  the  promotion  of  the  plan.  Much, 
however,  will  come,  upon  proper  inducements,  from  those 
who,  feeling  the  intolerable  burdens  of  their  situation  and 
realizing  the  impossibility  of  advancement  in  their  present 
environment,  are  to-day  eagerly  seeking  some  opportunity 
to  better  their  circumstances  by  removal  to  a  more  favoring 
situation.  The  movement  might  for  a  time  be  slow;  indeed, 
years  might  elapse  before  its  true  value  would  be  appreciated 
by  those  whom  it  is  sought  to  assist,  but  once  fairly  under 
way,  it  would  go  on  with  ever-accelerating  progress  until 
the  problem  would  finally  be  brought  to  a  successful 
solution. 

Bear  in  mind,  also,  that  while  advantageous  opportunities 
would  lie  before  him,  that  feature  of  the  plan  which  calls 
for  the  adoption  of  a  policy  of  decitizenizing  the  negro  would 
make  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  accept  its  provisions,  or  by 
the  rejection  of  them  to  resign  himself  once  for  all  to  a  po 
sition  of  permanent  and  legally  recognized  inferiority.  The 
success  of  the  solution  lies  in  the  hands  of  the  superior  ma 
jority  race.  Without  difficulty  and  without  friction,  by  a 
mere  adoption  of  the  plan  and  its  enforcement  by  refusal 
to  accept  its  rejection  by  the  negro,  the  result  may  be  auto 
matically  achieved. 

(2)  Another  objection  certain  to  be  advanced  is  that  THE 

SOUTH    CANNOT  AFFORD  TO  ALLOW  THE    NEGRO   TO   GO.      It 

The  South  *s  alleged  that  the  white  man's  interests  are  so 
Would  inseparably  connected  with  the  retention  of  the 
negro  upon  the  soil,  that  the  former  will  pre 
sent  the  sternest  opposition  to  any  attempt  to  foster 
negro  emigration,  and  that  without  his  co-operation  the 
project  must  necessarily  fail.  It  is  asserted  that  the  plan 


428  The  Negro  Problem 

would  meet  such  hostility  in  the  section  of  the  country  where 
the  majority  of  negroes  are  massed,  that  neither  the  negro's 
own  desire  to  emigrate,  nor  such  aid  as  the  nation  might  ex 
tend  to  him,  could  overcome  the  opposition  of  those  finan 
cially  benefited  by  constraining  him  to  remain  in  his  present 
situation. 

And  here  we  encounter  a  yet  more  striking  paradox.  In 
frequent  and  forcible  discussion  of  the  subject  the  white  man 
of  the  South  alleges  that  the  negro  as  a  race  is  absolutely 
unfitted  for  participation  in  the  affairs  of  government;  that 
the  safety  of  the  South  demands  his  exclusion  from  the  polls, 
and  to  that  end  his  disfranchisement  has  been  effected;  that 
the  negro  is  likewise  unqualified  for  jury  service,  and  that 
as  in  general  he  is  ignorant,  venal,  and  corrupt,  controlled 
in  his  conduct  by  motives  of  racial  clannishness,  he  is  not 
to  be  entrusted  with  any  duty  or  authority  in  the  govern 
ment  of  the  community. 

He  further  asserts  that  as  a  factor  in  the  industrial  problem 
of  the  South,  the  negro  as  a  laborer,  male  and  female,  is 
thriftless,  unreliable,  and  inefficient,  that  he  will  work  only 
when  compelled  by  dire  necessity,  and  complains  of  his 
vagrant  criminality  as  imposing  a  burden  on  the  prosperity 
of  the  section.  He  charges  the  negro  with  a  desire  to  aban 
don  the  work  of  the  plantation  and  to  herd  in  vicious  idle 
ness  in  the  slums  of  the  towns.  He  derides  his  efforts  to 
secure  education,  and  mocks  at  his  religion  as  voodooistic 
superstition. 

More  than  all,  the  Southern  white  man  accuses  the  negro 
of  cherishing  a  malignant  hatred  which  too  often  finds  ex 
pression  in  acts  of  fiendish  lawlessness,  and  renders  the  daily 
life  of  women  and  children  a  thing  of  terror,  and  which  in 
turn  leads  to  such  reprisals  as  shock  the  moral  sense  of  the 
world.  He  denounces  the  members  of  the  inferior  race  as 
breeders  of  disease,  corrupters  of  youth,  ravishers  of  women 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          429 

and  children,  and  harborers  of  criminals;  he  taunts  them 
with  their  aspirations  for  political  freedom  and  social 
equality,  and,  in  fine,  denies  to  the  members  of  the  race 
the  possession  of  even  one  respectable  quality,  imputing 
to  them  all  that  is  vicious  in  vice  and  everything  that  is 
criminal  in  crime.  And  yet  we  are  asked  to  believe  that 
he  will  not  give  his  consent  to  a  plan  which  promises  to 
remove  from  his  section  this  alien,  worthless,  and  criminal 
element! 

With  lurid  rhetoric,  the  Southern  scientist  pictures  the 
unspeakable  degradation  of  the  Caucasian  blood  which 
would  follow  the  miscegenation  of  the  races,  and  bitterly 
denounces  as  traitors  to  the  highest  interests  of  their  people 
those  of  the  white  race  who  would  in  the  least  degree 
remove  the  barriers  to  social  equality.  And  yet  the  aver 
age  Southerner,  it  is  said,  would  oppose  any  project  for 
the  removal  of  a  danger  at  once  so  threatening  and  so 
portentous. 

However  inconsistent  this  attitude  of  the  white  men  and 
women  of  the  South  may  seem,  it  must  in  all  candor  be  ad 
mitted  that  it  presents  an  exceedingly  difficult  objection  to 
overcome,  because  the  opposition  disclosed  rests  upon  what 
appears  to  be  a  pecuniary  basis.  Any  proposition  of  this 
character  which  may  for  a  time  operate  to  menace  the  finan 
cial  interests  of  the  Southern  landowner,  and  which  super 
ficially  viewed  might  arouse  the  apprehension  of  acting  as 
an  impediment  to  the  rapidly  growing  progress  of  the  South, 
is  sure  to  meet  with  the  most  determined  opposition.  The 
financial  interest  is  frequently  short-sighted,  but  is  always 
awake  to  its  supposed  perils.  To  apply  Macaulay's  familiar 
illustration:  "If  any  considerable  financial  interest  found  it 
self  opposed  by  the  law  of  gravitation,  powerful  arguments 
would  soon  be  forthcoming  to  demonstrate  that  the  law  itself 
was  grossly  erroneous." 


430  The  Negro  Problem 

And,  upon  superficial  consideration,  it  must  be  conceded 
that  the  rapid  removal  of  the  negro  population  would  appear 

to  be  inimical  to  the  financial  interests  of  those 
Considera 
tions  of        of  the  landowning  class  of  the  South  who  derive 

Character.  ^e^r  livelihood  from  renting  their  impoverished 
lands  to  ignorant,  improvident  negro  tenants. 
There  is  no  question  but  that  temporarily  considered  the 
negro's  presence  inures  to  their  financial  advantage.  The 
reasons  are  obvious. 

In  the  first  instance,  the  negro  can  be  induced  to  pay  a 
higher  rent  than  an  independent  white  citizen  would  find 
possible  under  existing  circumstances.  Being  practically 
beyond  the  protection  of  the  law,  in  cases  of  dispute  as  to 
his  contractual  rights,  his  ignorance  and  the  local  prejudice 
against  him  place  him  at  a  disadvantage  and  enforce  his 
submission  to  the  demands  of  the  landlord.  He  is  content 
to  subsist  upon  a  lower  scale  of  living  than  any  people  of 
Caucasian  blood  would  accept.  Where  he  is  a  tenant  or  a 
laborer  under  contract  he  is  ordinarily  compelled  to  trade 
at  the  company's  store,  thus  enhancing  by  a  second  profit 
the  acquisitions  of  his  employer. 

And  further,  the  peonage  system,  now  so  prevalent  in  the 
lower  South,  could,  of  course,  never  have  gained  foothold 
except  for  the  presence  of  the  negro,  and  the  convict  labor 
system  obtaining  in  so  many  of  the  states  of  that  section, 
through  which  large  profits  accrue  to  favored  individuals 
through  the  leasing  of  convicts  from  the  state,  would  be 
seriously  interfered  with  by  the  emigration  of  the  negro 
people.  No  longer  would  the  great  state  of  Georgia,  the 
empire  state  of  the  South,  be  able  to  boast  that  while  it 
rented  its  vicious  human  material  to  contractors  at  the  rate 
of  $22  a  month,  the  contractors  in  turn  were  able  to  obtain 
from  subcontractors  the  highest  rate  of  wages  ever  secured 
for  convict  labor,  viz. — $47.50  per  month.  Let  us  imagine, 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          431 

if  we  can,  the  condition  of  human  beings  sold  bodily  to 
selfish  contractors  to  be  worked  by  them  at  a  profit,  where 
they  pay  for  their  enforced  services  $47.50  per  month.  The 
fact  that  less  than  one-half  of  the  wages  of  these  unfortunate 
beings  finds  its  way  into  the  state  treasury  only  serves  to 
emphasize  the  point  that  the  most  stubborn  resistance  would 
be  made  to  any  plan  of  assisted  emigration  of  the  negro  by 
those  so  profitably  engaged  in  the  exploitation  of  his  capacity 
as  an  unwilling  worker.  To  this  reform  from  contractor  and 
landlord,  from  the  few  living  in  ease  upon  the  product  of 
the  negro's  toil,  would  come  a  vigorous  remonstrance. 

Doubtless  some  opposition,  upon  sentimental  grounds, 
from  short-sighted  but  well  meaning  persons,  would  be 
added  to  that  of  those  financially  interested.  And  yet  all 
such  opposition  could  be  overcome  or  ignored.  To  over 
come  such  opposition,  it  should  only  be  necessary  to  es 
tablish,  as  has  been  done  a  thousand  times  in  the  past,  that 
the  presence  of  the  negro  is  a  clog  upon  the  progress  of  the 
South;  that  his  occupancy  of  the  soil  deters  emigration  from 
the  North  and  from  foreign  countries;  and  that,  as  in  the  olden 
time  slave  labor  degraded  free  labor,  so  at  the  present  time 
does  negro  labor  degrade  white  labor;  and  that  there  never 
will  be  an  efficient  self-respecting  labor  element  in  that  part 
of  our  country  until  the  removal  of  the  black  man  has  been 
accomplished. 

Experience  has  shown  that  wherever  white  labor  has  been 
introduced  in  the  South,  either  in  the  factory  or  upon  the  farm, 
it  is  far  more  efficient  than  negro  labor.  During  the  days 
of  slavery,  nine-tenths  of  the  cotton  crop  was  raised  by  ne 
groes;  at  the  present  time  less  than  three-eighths  measures 
the  result  of  their  efforts.  Statistics  establish  that  the 
greatest  production  of  cotton,  both  by  the  acre  and  in 
gross,  is  in  Texas  and  other  sections  of  the  South  where  the 
work  of  cultivation  is  principally  performed  by  white  labor. 


43 2  The  Negro  Problem 

In  his  instructive  essay  upon  the  economic  future  of  the 
negro1  Mr.  Alfred  Holt  Stone  presents  an  interesting  com 
parison  of  the  relative  efficiency  of  the  newly  arrived  Italian 
cotton  grower  of  Mississippi  with  his  negro  competitor. 
Although,  as  the  essayist  states,  the  negro  was  cultivating  a 
crop  with  which  his  race  had  been  familiar  for  generations, 
while  the  white  immigrant  had  never  seen  a  stalk  of  cotton 
before  coming  to  America,  a  few  years  before,  the  result  of 
the  comparison  is  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  foreigner. 
The  average  cash  value  of  the  product  per  hand  is  for  the 
Italian  $277.36,  for  the  negro  $128.47;  tne  average  cash 
product  value  per  acre,  Italians,  $44.77,  negroes,  $26.36.  Mr. 
Stone  further  compares  the  habits  of  industry  and  methods 
of  life  of  the  two  races,  and  in  every  respect  finds  the  Italian 
superior  to  the  indolent  and  ambitionless  negro. 

It  is  a  time  worn  fallacy,  now  beginning  to  lose  its  accept 
ance,  that  the  negro  is  in  any  way  essential  to  the  welfare 
of  the  South.  Had  he  before  him  the  prospect 
NotNeceT-  °^  economic  freedom;  the  promise,  no  matter 
sary  to  how  remote,  of  social  standing;  a  fair  expectation 
of  gaining  political  power,  something  might  be 
expected  of  him  in  the  way  of  industrial  advancement.  But 
so  long  as  present  conditions  remain,  and  they  will  continue 
indefinitely,  the  negro  is  but  an  impediment  to  the  develop 
ment  of  the  South,  and  only  the  unenlightened  minds  of  that 
section  would  oppose  a  rational  plan  for  his  removal.  And 
yet  we  must  concede  that  even  in  well  informed  circles  in  the 
South  the  impression  does  prevail  that  the  emigration  of  the 
negro  would  be  injurious  to  the  best  welfare  of  that  community. 

In  discussing  the  subject  of  negro  colonization  in  a  leading 
editorial,  April  4,  1907,  the  Atlanta  Constitution  expressed 
the  following  view: 

^Studies  in  the  American  Race  Problem.  By  Alfred  Holt  Stone. 
Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  New  York,  1908,  p.  179  et  seq. 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          433 

The  South,  would  not,  broadly  speaking,  tolerate  such 
a  solution.  In  Georgia  we  even  have  a  law  making  it  a 
crime  to  solicit  negro  labor  to  go  outside  the  state  borders. 
The  forthcoming  Legislature  is  committed  to  negro  dis- 
franchisement.  But  a  proposition  to  repeal  the  Georgia 
law  that  penalizes  the  negro  immigrant  agent  would  not 
receive  serious  consideration  by  that  same  Legislature. 
That  's  more  Georgia  sentiment.  And,  as  the  subject 
bears  intimately  on  the  grievous  labor  problem,  it  's 
Southern  sentiment y  also. 

Ephraim  is  indeed  wedded  to  his  idols! 

In  a  subsequent  chapter,  in  discussion  of  the  results  to  be 
effected  by  the  proposed  solution  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
occasion  will  be  taken  more  fully  to  discuss  this  phase  of 
the  problem,  but  it  suffices  here  to  say  that  should  the  pro 
posed  remedy  for  the  evil  find  acceptance  in  other  sections 
of  the  country,  and  commend  itself  to  the  negro,  opposition 
in  the  South  by  those  interested  in  preventing  his  departure 
would  not  be  found  to  be  ineluctable.  If  it  could  not  be 
overcome  by  legitimate  argument,  by  those  considerations 
of  self-interest  which  must  forcibly  appeal  to  any  enlightened 
people,  such  opposition  could  be  ignored,  and  the  project 
carried  out  in  disregard  of  its  existence.  Should  the  negro 
once  evince  a  desire  to  depart  from  the  country,  and  should 
provision  be  made  by  the  Federal  Government  for  that  pur 
pose,  no  supposititious  interest  of  any  section  would  long 
prevent  his  assisted  emigration. 

(3)  We  now  come  to  discuss  an  objection  of  a  somewhat 
similar  character  to  the  one  last  considered,  but  applicable 
The  Objec-  a^e  to  a^  sections  of  the  United  States,  namely, 

tion  of  the   the  objection  that  THE  NEGRO  is  NEEDED  THROUGH- 

Need  of  a 

Servile  OUT  THE  COUNTRY  TO  RENDER  SERVICES  OF  SUCH 

Class.  MENIAL  AND  DISAGREEABLE  CHARACTER    AS    ARE 

BENEATH   THE   DIGNITY  OF  THE  WHITE  POPULATION. 

28 


434  The  Negro  Problem 

"Your  plan  won't  do  at  all,  Mr.  Pickett,"  said  a  cultivated 
Northern  woman,  after  the  writer  had  spent  some  enthusi 
astic  moments  in  the  statement  of  its  leading  provisions; 
"we  can't  get  along  without  janitors  and  elevator  boys." 
There  is  doubtless  a  quite  well  denned  feeling  in  the  com 
munity,  North  and  South,  especially  among  the  more  refined 
and  cultured  people,  that  there  are  certain  tasks  and  occu 
pations  of  absolute  necessity,  and  yet  of  such  unpleasant 
and  undignified  character  as  to  be  unfit  for  performance  by 
self-respecting  people,  and  that  we  therefore  need  negroes 
for  services  of  this  character.  In  common  parlance,  certain 
things  are  only  "  fit  for  a  nigger  to  do. " 

In  a  former  chapter  some  discussion  of  this  topic  was 
directed  to  an  explanation  of  the  effect  of  cheap  negro  labor 
upon  other  labor  in  the  community,  and  the  endeavor  was 
made  to  demonstrate  that  the  existence  of  any  class  of  persons 
willing  to  accept  at  meagre  compensation  labor  of  a  servile 
and  disagreeable  character  has  a  tendency  to  lower  the  wages 
of  all  workers  subject  to  their  competition.  The  answer 
to  the  objection  now  under  consideration  is  this:  So  long 
as  we  have  in  our  respective  communities  members  of  the 
negro  race  who,  under  compulsion  of  circumstances,  are 
willing  for  low  wages  to  accept  disagreeable  tasks  and  pursue, 
menial  occupations;  services  of  this  character,  however 
intrinsically  honorable,  will  be  ill  paid,  and  therefore  re 
garded  as  servile  and  shunned  by  the  other  members  of  the 
community.  Should  Lincoln's  plan  for  the  solution  of  the 
negro  problem  be  adopted,  and  the  negro  be  eliminated  as  a 
factor  in  our  social  and  industrial  life,  it  would  be  astonishing 
to  see  how  duties  of  the  kind  mentioned  would  rise  in  dig 
nity  when  performed  by  well  paid,  self-respecting,  intelligent 
American  citizens. 

Illustrations  of  this  tendency  toward  the  elevation  of 
occupations  by  increase  of  salary  and  efficiency  have  been 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          435 

presented  in  a  former  chapter,  and  might  readily  be  multi 
plied  indefinitely;  but  it  is  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  meet 
ing  this  objection  to  point  out  that  the  final  result  of  the 
elimination  of  the  negro  as  an  industrial  competitor  would 
tend  to  give  more  lucrative  character  and  greater  dignity 
to  such  occupations,  while  the  ingenuity  and  inventive  enter 
prise  of  the  white  race  could  be  relied  upon  to  a  great  extent 
to  improve  conditions,  so  as  to  render  many  of  such  un 
pleasant  occupations  less  burdensome  and  others  wholly 
unnecessary. 

To  the  negro  himself  the  suggestion  of  this  objection  con 
tains  a  distinct  menace.  If  his  race  is  to  be  doomed  to  a 
perpetual  condition  of  employment  at  inferior  occupations, 
if  the  position  of  underling  is  to  be  the  lot  of  his  people, 
why  then  we  have  an  established  system  of  caste,  by  which 
those  of  negro  blood  are  restricted  to  servile  employments, 
not  only  in  this  generation,  but  in  all  generations  to  come. 
The  theory  that  the  negro  must  remain  with  us  to  fill  the 
undesirable  positions,  would,  logically  carried  out,  con 
stitute  him  and  his  children's  children  a  Sudra  class,  des 
tined  to  unchangeable  subordination. 

Sir  Thomas  Moore,  in  his  Utopia,  a  dream  of  the 
Middle  Ages  for  the  organization  of  an  industrial  democracy, 
encountered  this  difficulty,  and  could  solve  it  only  by  in 
troducing  a  violation  of  his  theory  of  equality  among  the 
citizens  of  his  visionary  republic.  He  was  compelled  to 
introduce  bondsmen  to  perform  "all  vile  service,  all  slavery 
and  drudgery,  with  all  laboursome  toil  and  base  business." 
Note  how  these  "bondsmen"  correspond  with  our  negro 
element: 

Another  kind  of  bondsmen  they  have,  when  a  vile  drudge 
being  a  poor  labourer  in  another  country  doth  choose 
of  his  own  free  will  to  be  a  bondsman  among  them.  These 


436  The  Negro  Problem 

they  treat  and  order  honestly,  and  entertain  almost  as 
gently  as  their  own  free  citizens,  saving  that  they  put 
them  to  a  little  more  labour,  as  thereto  accustomed.  If 
any  such  be  disposed  to  depart  thence  (which  seldom  is 
seen)  they  neither  hold  him  against  his  will,  neither  send 
him  away  with  empty  hands. 


(4)  But,  it  may  be  said  as  a  concluding  objection,  AFTER 

ALL,  YOU  HAVE  NOT  SOLVED  THE  NEGRO  PROBLEM.    You 

have  simply  removed  it.  Assume,  says  the  ob- 
Problein  at  jector,  that  the  negro,  to  the  number  of  millions, 
Removed  accePts  tne  theory  of  Lincoln,  that  he  announces 

himself  ready  for  departure,  that  he  throngs  to 
the  seaports  seeking  transportation  to  Africa,  or  elsewhere, 
and  that  in  ten  years  you  are  called  upon  to  transport,  es 
tablish,  and  maintain  five  millions  of  human  beings  in 
Liberia  or  other  settlements.  Then,  he  says,  you  have  in 
volved  yourself  in  difficulties  and  expenses  even  greater 
than  those  existing,  and  by  the  transfer  simply  added 
another  to  our  present  embarrassments.  Do  not  Cuba, 
Hayti,  Porto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines  suffice? 

It  is  true,  in  a  sense,  that  the  problem  would  not  be  solved, 
because,  as  emphasized  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  work, 
the  problem  is  susceptible  of  final  solution  by  the  negro  and 
by  the  negro  alone.  We  'would,  however,  by  the  removal 
have  changed  its  character  and  measurably  shifted  the 
burden  to  the  black  man;  we  would  have  removed  the  present 
obstacles  to  his  free  development;  we  would  have  lifted  from 
him  the  yoke  of  oppression  and  placed  him  amidst  surround 
ings  where,  if  he  be,  as  claimed,  a  member  of  an  undeveloped 
and  not  essentially  inferior  race,  he  would  have  the  un 
hampered  opportunity  to  give  the  world  a  display  of  his 
qualifications. 

In  so  far  as  it  concerns  the  United  States  in  its  interior 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          437 

organization  and  economy,  by  assisted  emigration  the 
problem  would  be  solved.  The  effect  of  such  a  solution 
upon  the  nation  will  be  the  subject  of  one  of  the  concluding 
chapters  of  this  work.  It  is  not  contended  that  the  proposed 
solution  would  be  flawless.  If,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  United  States,  great  numbers  of  negroes  should  be 
established  in  Liberia,  the  Congo  Free  State,  or  in  any  other 
section  of  the  African  Continent,  we  would  be  for  a  long 
period  called  upon  to  extend  our  moral  influence  for  their 
protection,  and  liberally  to  expend  our  revenues  for  their 
maintenance,  until  after  years  of  experience  they  should 
become  able  to  establish  themselves  upon  a  self-supporting 
and  independent  basis. 

But  certainly  we  owe  something  to  this  people.  They 
and  their  ancestors  have  been  for  generations  workers  upon 
our  soil;  they  have  cleared  the  fields  and  developed  the  agri 
culture  of  the  South;  they  have,  unpaid  or  poorly  paid, 
performed  the  hard  work  of  a  great  division  of  our  coun 
try,  and  it  would  be  but  little  by  way  of  compensation 
should  we  advance  them  some  portion  of  the  wealth  which 
has  been  the  product  of  their  toil,  as  it  would  certainly  be 
the  height  of  injustice  to  allow  them  to  go  empty  handed 
from  among  us. 

In  like  fashion,  should  there  be  any  considerable  emigra 
tion  to  the  West  India  Islands  and  to  the  countries  surround 
ing  the  Caribbean  Sea,  the  duty  which  our  destiny  imposes 
upon  us  of  caring,  by  protectorate  or  otherwise,  for  those 
regions,  would  simply  be  made  somewhat  more  difficult. 
In  any  event,  considering  the  period  which  must  necessarily 
elapse  in  preparation  for  the  proposed  plan,  and  the  decades 
required  to  carry  it  into  execution,  it  is  not  to  be  apprehended 
that  the  difficulty  of  caring  for  these  people,  once  they  were 
established  outside  of  the  limits  of  the  country,  would  prove 
too  heavy  a  tax  upon  our  national  resources. 


43 8  The  Negro  Problem 

Reviewing  thus  briefly  the  different  objections  raised 
against  the  adoption  and  execution  of  the  policy  formulated 

by  Lincoln,  we  find  that  none  may  in  any  sense 
No  Objec- 
tion  Found  be  regarded  as  insuperable.     Each  and  all  may 

superable.  ^e  overcome-  If  there  were  no  objections  of 
weight,  the  plan  would  be  in  operation  to-day; 
and  were  it  once  adopted  by  both  the  interested  races  it  would 
be  astonishing  to  observe  how  these  fancied  objections  would 
vanish  as  the  means  for  carrying  out  the  project  assumed 
practical  shape.  And  even  assuming  that  the  objections 
to  be  encountered  are  more  weighty  than  they  appear  as 
herein  set  forth,  yet  they  are  but  as  dust  in  the  balance  when 
weighed  with  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the  complete 
execution  of  the  plan. 

As  stated  by  a  writer1  whose  profound  and  accurate  views 
announced  some  twenty  years  ago  have  received  confirma 
tion  with  every  passing  year, — 

The  removal  of  the  colored  population,  within  a  reason 
able  period,  would  itself  richly  repay  the  white  people  of 
the  United  States  by  its  effects  on  the  social,  political  and 
industrial  conditions  and  relations  of  the  two  sections, 
North  and  South.  There  would  be  a  perfect  union  and 
lasting  peace  and  harmony  between  them  ever  afterward, 
with  all  that  such  conditions  imply;  they  cannot  attain 
these  results  in  any  other  way;  and  the  value  of  such  re 
sults  is  truly  above  all  price.  The  nation  could  well  afford 
to  beggar  itself,  on  his  account,  for  one  hundred  years,  if 
only  it  could  start  anew  at  the  end  of  that  time  with  the 
African  back  in  Africa. 

Then  to  say  that  objections  exist,  and  that  the  execution 
of  the  plan  which  Lincoln  favored  is  difficult,  is  not  to  say 
that  it  should  not  be  undertaken.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to 

1  Carlyle  McKinley,  An  Appeal  to  Pharaoh,  page  154. 


Objections  to  Be  Considered          439 

defer  action  with  the  unwarranted  statement  that  the  sug 
gested  remedy  is  impracticable.  Gigantic  as  the  outlined 
task  may  appear,  with  time,  resolution  and  a  liberal  ex 
penditure  of  money  it  can  be  undertaken  and  successfully 
accomplished.  Once  the  removal  of  the  negro  race  should 
be  effected,  the  marvel  of  the  nations  would  be  that  the 
previous  condition  of  affairs  had  been  allowed  to  remain  so 
long  without  remedy,  and  that  an  intelligent  and  resourceful 
people  should  have  endured  even  for  a  day  such  an  impedi 
ment  to  its  continued  progress. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  EXPERTS 

The  spirit  of  caste  drives  the  negro  out  of  churches,  theatres,  hotels, 
rail  cars  and  steamboats,  or  assigns  to  him  in  them  a  place 
apart.  It  drives  him  into  the  cellars,  dens  and  alleys  of  towns, 
into  hovels  in  the  country;  and  it  does  all  this  without  laws, 
without  concert  or  design,  without  unkindness  or  cruelty;  but 
unconsciously,  simply  because  it  cannot  help  doing  it,  obeying 
this  instinctive  impulse  and  the  immutable,  eternal  laws  by 
which  races  of  men  are  kept  apart  and  are  preserved  through 
out  countless  ages  without  change. 

These  laws  are  divine.  They  execute  themselves  in  spite  of  party 
combinations  or  fanatical  legislatures  or  philanthropic  en 
thusiasts  or  visionary  dreamers  about  human  perfecta- 
bility  and  the  rights  of  man. — Fisher's  Laws  of  Race,  page 
21-3- 

A  THING  which  in  itself  appeals  to  our  reasoning  facul 
ties  as  standing  squarely  with  the  eternal  verities  does 
not  require  to  be  buttressed  by  the  citation  of  authorities.  But 
however  well  we  may  be  assured  in  our  own  thought  that 
our  judgment  concerning  a  proposition  is  founded  upon 
principles  of  correct  reasoning,  our  advocacy  is  reinforced 
to  greater  certainty  when  we  find  that  others,  eminently 
qualified  by  judgment  and  experience  to  pass  upon  the  ques 
tion,  have  in  the  past  entertained  like  views,  and  that  in  the 
present  those  surveying  the  situation  from  a  disinterested 
standpoint  are  similarly  of  our  mind  as  to  the  remedy  to 
be  applied  to  an  existing  evil. 

In  the  administration  of  justice,  where  the  subject  under 

440 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        441 

examination  in  court  is  one  demanding  knowledge  of  un 
usual  character,  those  qualified  by  reason  of  training 
Views  of  an<^  exPerience  to  express  their  opinions  upon 
Early  the  subject  and  deemed  capable  of  enlightening 

the  tribunal,  may  be  summoned  to  court  to 
give  their  testimony  as  experts,  and  so,  while  the  problem 
which  is  the  subject  of  this  discussion  is  one  requiring 
for  its  solution  only  the  application  of  the  simplest  prin 
ciples  of  sound  governmental  policy,  it  may  be  enlighten 
ing  to  turn  back  for  a  moment  to  examine  what  have 
been  the  expressions  of  those  statesmen  of  former  periods 
best  qualified  to  discuss  the  solution  of  the  ever-present  negro 
problem. 

Recalling,  as  presented  in  a  former  chapter  of  this  work, 
that  the  question  has  passed  through  four  distinct  stages 
of  discussion,  it  is  confidently  asserted  that  in  no  instance 
occurring  prior  to  the  period  of  reconstruction  following 
the  Civil  War  can  it  be  found  that  any  American  statesman 
of  practical  knowledge  and  constructive  ability  entertained 
or  expressed  the  belief  that  the  negro  would  ever  be  fitted 
to  form  an  element  in  our  nationality.  A  volume  might 
be  compiled  from  the  written  opinions  of  the  practical  men 
who  founded  and  developed  this  government,  to  the  effect 
that  the  negro  was  by  his  inherent  traits  disqualified  from 
participation  in  the  government  or  social  institutions  of 
our  land.  This  proposition  cannot  be  too  strenuously 
insisted  upon,  and  unless  the  experience  of  the  past  forty- 
five  years  has  given  us  increased  wisdom  upon  the  subject, 
and  as  a  matter  of  rational  judgment  has  demonstrated 
the  capacity  of  the  negro  to  develop  himself  into  a  valuable 
citizen,  it  is  incumbent  upon  us  to  be  satisfied  that  we  have 
acted  wisely  in  departing  from  the  path  marked  out  by  those 
who  have  preceded  us  in  the  consideration  of  this  perplexing 
problem. 


442  The  Negro  Problem 

Let  us  now  consider  for  a  moment  the  recorded  opinions 
upon  the  subject  of  those  eminent  men  to  whose  labor,  abil 
ities,  and  sacrifices  the  enduring  foundation  of  the  prosperity 
of  this  country  is  so  largely  to  be  attributed,  and  also  those 
of  the  later  generation  who  labored  to  preserve  our  nation 
ality  when  threatened  by  the  dangers  originating  in  the 
presence  of  the  negro. 

Mr.  George  S.  Merriam  begins  his  instructive  and  enter 
taining  work  entitled  The  Negro  and  the  Nation  with  an 
Washington  anecdote  of  George  Washington,  describing  him 
and  as  condemning,  in  conversation  with  an  English 

guest,  the  prevailing  system  of  human  slavery. 
After  pointing  out  that  the  vicious  practice  was  a  legacy  from 
English  cupidity,  the  Father  of  his  Country  is  represented 
as  saying: 

I  can  clearly  foresee  that  nothing  but  the  rooting  out  of 
slavery  can  perpetuate  the  existence  of  our  Union  by 
consolidating  it  in  a  common  bond  of  principle. 

As  noted  in  the  second  chapter  of  this  work,  Washington, 
in  common  with  Franklin  and  many  of  the  statesmen  of 
the  time,  considered  the  presence  of  the  negro  a  thing  of 
ephemeral  character,  and  believed  that  with  the  abolition 
of  slavery  the  evils  attendant  upon  the  introduction  of  the 
black  man  would  pass  away.  In  a  letter  to  Governor 
Charles  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina,  March  17,  1793,  Wash 
ington,  then  President,  regrets  the  failure  of  that  State 
to  prohibit  the  importation  of  negroes,  and  predicts  "dire 
ful  results"  from  their  coming  in  numbers.  Franklin  was 
ardent  in  his  opposition  to  slavery,  and  deprecated  the  in 
troduction  of  the  negro,  declaring  him  unfit  for  American 
citizenship. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  philosopher,  scholar,  statesman,  writer, 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        443 

and  student  of  the  negro  problem,  in  his  voluminous  works 
from  time  to  time  devoted  much  attention  to  the  character 
Thomas  and  prospects  of  the  negro  race.  Pages  might  be 
Jefferson.  quoted  from  his  philosophic  discussion  of  the 
subject.  The  great  Virginian,  regarding  the  question  from 
many  points  of  view,  and  in  a  series  of  articles  between 
1782  and  the  time  of  his  death  in  1826,  frequently  announced 
his  conclusion  that  the  white  and  the  black  cannot  inhabit 
this  country  in  harmony,  and  that  the  only  possible  solution 
of  the  great  question,  which  even  in  his  day  was  beginning 
to  darken  the  national  horizon,  was  the  complete  separation 
of  the  races. 

We  find  him  writing  in  his  autobiography  in  1821  (Jeffer 
son's  Works,  volume  i.,  page  48): 

The  bill  on  the  subject  of  slaves  was  a  mere  digest  of 
the  existing  laws  respecting  them,  without  any  intimation 
of  a  plan  for  a  future  and  general  emancipation.  It  was 
thought  better  that  this  should  be  kept  back,  and  at 
tempted  only  by  way  of  amendment  whenever  the  bill 
should  be  brought  on.  The  principles  of  the  amendment, 
however,  were  agreed  on ;  that  is  to  say,  the  freedom  of  all 
born  after  a  certain  day,  and  deportation  at  a  proper  age. 
But  it  was  found  that  the  public  mind  would  not  yet  bear 
the  proposition;  nor  will  it  bear  it  even  at  this  day.  Yet 
the  day  is  not  distant  when  it  must  bear  and  adopt  it,  or 
worse  will  follow.  NOTHING  is  MORE  CERTAINLY  WRITTEN 

IN   THE    BOOK    OF    FATE    THAN    THAT    THESE   PEOPLE   ARE   TO 

BE  FREE;   NOR  is  IT  LESS  CERTAIN  THAT  THE  TWO  RACES, 

EQUALLY    FREE,   CANNOT    LIVE    IN    THE    SAME    GOVERNMENT. 

Nature,  habit,  opinion,  have  drawn  indelible  lines  of 
distinction  between  them.  It  is  still  in  our  power  to 
direct  the  process  of  emancipation  and  deportation,  peace 
ably,  and  in  such  slow  degree,  as  that  the  evil  will  wear 
off  insensibly,  and  their  place  be,  pari  passu,  filled  up  by 
free  white  laborers. 


444  The  Negro  Problem 

We  may  consider  this  as  foundation  authority  for  the  prin 
ciple  of  colonization.  Certainly  no  declaration  could  combine 
authority  and  philosophy  in  a  greater  degree  than  that  of  the 
distinguished  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Catching  something  of  the  spirit  of  the  great  apostle  of  free 
dom  and  the  rights  of  man,  the  Virginia  Legislature  of  1831-2 
debated  a  measure  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  by  gradual 
emancipation  accompanied  by  compensation,  with  pro 
vision  for  the  deportation  of  the  freedmen  to  their  African 
homes.  The  plan  received  earnest  support, — all  conceded 
the  evil,  all  admitted  the  effectual  character  of  the  remedy 
proposed, — but,  as  usual,  the  financial  interest  prevailed,  the 
lethargic  spirit  of  the  people  did  not  rise  to  the  great  occasion, 
and  the  sons  and  daughters  of  those  who  rejected  the  benefi 
cent  measure  were  fated  to  see  their  beloved  State  prostrate 
under  the  iron  heel  of  a  war  brought  about  by  short-sighted 
dealing  with  the  subject  of  negro  colonization. 

It  is  familiar  knowledge  that  Henry  Clay  early  embraced 
the  theory  that  the  solution  of  the  negro  question  was  to  be 

accomplished  by  the  deportation  of  the  race. 
Henry  Clay.  TT  .  ,  ..  . 

He  was  active  and  prominent  in  the  establish 
ment  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  and  was  Lin 
coln's  forerunner  and  preceptor  in  the  development  of  the 
plan. 

In  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  January  20, 
1827,  he  delivered  an  eloquent  and  exhaustive  discourse  on 
the  subject,  the  reading  of  which  should  be  the  duty  of  every 
American  citizen  of  the  present  time.  Space  allows  but  the 
briefest  extract  from  this  enlightening  address: 

Of  the  utility  of  a  total  separation  of  the  two  incon 
gruous  portions  of  our  population  (supposing  it  to  be 
practicable)  none  have  ever  doubted.  The  mode  of  ac- 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        445 

complishing  that  most  desirable  object  has  alone  divided 
public  opinion.  Colonization  in  Hayti,  for  a  time,  had  its 
partisans.  Without  throwing  any  impediments  in  the 
way  of  executing  that  scheme,  the  American  Colonization 
Society  has  steadily  adhered  to  its  own.  The  Haytian 
project  has  passed  away.  Colonization  beyond  the  Stony 
Mountains  has  sometimes  been  proposed;  but  it  would 
be  attended  with  an  expense  and  difficulties  far  surpassing 
the  African  project,  whilst  it  would  not  unite  the  same 
animating  motives.  There  is  a  moral  fitness  in  the  idea 
of  returning  to  Africa  her  children  whose  ancestors  have 
been  torn  from  her  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  fraud  and 
violence.  Transplanted  in  a  foreign  land,  they  will  carry 
back  to  their  native  soil  the  rich  fruits  of  religion,  civili 
zation,  law  and  liberty. 

With  the  exception  of  Calhoun,  whose  views  were  clouded 
by  his  subservience  to  the  slavery  interests,  all  of  the  great 
Senatorial  quartet  are  on  record  as  favoring  the  plan  after 
ward  developed  by  Lincoln. 

In  his  famous  speech  of  March  7,  1850,  Daniel  Webster, 
Daniel  than  whom  no  authority  upon  this  subject  can  be 
Webster,  entitled  to  greater  respect,  employed  the  follow 
ing  language: 

In  my  observations  upon  slavery  as  it  existed  in  this 
country,  and  as  it  now  exists,  I  have  expressed  no  opinion 
of  the  mode  of  its  extinguishment  or  melioration.  I  will 
say,  however,  though  I  have  nothing  to  propose,  because 
I  do  not  deem  myself  so  competent  as  other  gentlemen 
to  take  any  lead  on  this  subject,  that  if  any  gentleman 
from  the  South  shall  propose  a  scheme  to  be  carried  on  by 
this  government  upon  a  large  scale,  for  the  transportation 
of  the  colored  people  to  any  colony  or  any  place  in  the 
world,  I  should  be  quite  disposed  to  incur  almost  any 
degree  of  expense  to  accomplish  that  object. 


446  The  Negro  Problem 

The  succeeding  generation,  in  its  close  grapple  with 
slavery,  was  not  entirely  oblivious  to  the  fact  that  even  with 
Stephen  A.  the  extinction  of  that  hideous  institution  the 
Douglas.  negro  problem  would  remain  in  its  unsolved 
condition.  Lincoln's  plan  for  its  solution  has  hereinbefore 
been  presented  in  detail.  He  was  not  alone  in  entertaining 
these  views.  In  the  famous  Senatorial  debate  of  1858, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  in  his  speech  at  Ottawa,  August  21, 
took  similar  ground: 

For  one  I  am  opposed  to  negro  citizenship  in  any  and 
every  form.  I  believe  this  government  was  made  by  white 
men,  for  the  benefit  of  white  men  and  their  posterity  for 
ever;  and  I  am  in  favor  of  confining  citizenship  to  white 
men, — men  of  European  birth  and  descent,  instead  of 
conferring  it  upon  negroes,  Indians,  and  other  inferior 
races. 

During  the  incumbency  of  the  Presidential  office  by 
Millard  Fillmore,  the  country  narrowly  escaped  disruption 
Millard  over  the  negro  question.  Opposing  the  pro- 
illmore.  pOsecj  admission  of  California  as  a  free  state,  the 
Southern  fire-eaters,  under  the  leadership  of  Toombs,  Yancey, 
and  Davis,  threatened  the  immediate  secession  of  the  slave 
states,  and  it  was  only  by  the  powerful  influence  exerted  by 
the  President,  in  conjunction  with  Clay  and  Webster,  that 
the  attempt  to  establish  a  slave-holding  empire  was  post 
poned  for  a  decade. 

A  life-long  student  of  the  negro  problem,  Fillmore  was 
profoundly  impressed  with  the  dangers  arising  from  the 
presence  of  the  African  race  either  in  the  condition  of  slavery 
or  as  freemen  lacking  the  qualifications  of  citizenship.  In 
preparing  his  Annual  Message  to  Congress  in  December, 
1852,  he  inserted  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the  question, 
and  after  reciting  the  history  of  the  agitation  for  the  emanci- 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        447 

pation  of  the  black  man,  and  declaring  that  manumission 
without  colonization  could  only  operate  to  create  a  worthless 
population  that  would  ruin  the  South  and  could  scarcely  be 
endured  at  the  North,  he  thus  stated  his  conclusions  upon 
the  subject: 

Thus  having  stated  the  evil,  I  am  bound  to  offer  my 
views  of  the  remedy.  This  I  do  with  unfeigned  diffidence 
and  with  a  most  sincere  declaration  that  I  will  cheerfully 
concur  in  any  other  constitutional  mode  of  relief  which 
Congress  may  see  fit  to  adopt.  But  after  the  most  anxious 
and  mature  consideration  of  this  perplexing  question  in 
all  its  bearings,  I  confess  that  I  see  no  remedy  but  by 
colonizing  the  free  blacks,  either  in  Africa  or  the  West 
Indies,  or  both.  This,  it  appears  to  me,  is  all  Congress  can 
do.  It  cannot  abolish  slavery,  it  can  only  invite  emanci 
pation  by  moving  the  free  black  from  his  dangerous  prox 
imity  to  the  slave.  But  this  would,  beyond  all  question, 
offer  a  strong  inducement  to  manumission,  and  would 
enable  many  to  emancipate  their  slaves  who  are  desirous 
of  doing  so,  but  are  restrained  by  the  laws  of  their  states, 
which  forbid  emancipation  unless  the  slave  be  removed 
beyond  its  boundaries.  Such  persons  would  thus  be 
enabled  to  gratify  their  benevolent  wishes,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  would  be  left  entirely  to  the  slave-holding 
states  themselves  to  determine  when  manumission  should 
be  permitted,  or  slavery  abolished. 

This  is  where  the  Constitution  has  left  this  perplexing 
subject,  and  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  where  the  peace  of  the 
country  requires  that  it  should  remain.  But  this  bare 
removal  of  the  free  blacks  would  be  a  blessing  to  them  and 
would  relieve  the  slave  and  free  states  from  a  wretched 
population,  that  must  ever  be  kept  in  a  state  of  degradation 
by  the  prejudice  of  color  and  race,  whether  they  reside  in 
the  slave  or  free  states.  There  can  be  no  well  grounded 
hope  for  the  improvement  of  either  their  moral  or  social 


448  The  Negro  Problem 

condition,  until  they  are  removed  from  a  humiliating 
sense  of  inferiority  in  the  presence  of  a  superior  race,  and 
are  enabled  to  feel  the  wholesome  stimulus  of  a  social 
equality. 

It  is  true  that  this  must  be  the  work  of  many  years,  not 
to  say  centuries,  for  it  can  only  progress  as  the  slave-holding 
states,  who  are  chiefly  interested,  shall  find  it  for  their 
advantage  to  encourage  emancipation.  It  cannot  be  ex 
pected  that  a  social  evil  like  this,  which  has  been  accumu 
lating  for  more  than  two  hundred  years,  and  is  now 
intertwined  with  all  the  industrial  pursuits  of  one  half  of 
the  States  of  the  Union,  can  be  eradicated  in  a  day.  Its 
increase  has  been  insensible,  and  its  decrease  should  be 
so  gradual  as  to  create  no  shock.  But  it  cannot  be  com 
menced  too  soon  for  the  good  of  the  country;  for  the 
rational  philanthropist  will  see  in  its  gradual  accomplish 
ment  the  only  sure  mode  of  relieving  the  country  from 
this  increasing  evil  without  violence  and  bloodshed,  and 
instead  of  joining  in  the  fanaticism  of  abolition,  he  will 
patiently  await  its  fulfilment;  and  the  devout  Christian, 
who  has  longed  for  the  conversion  of  Africa,  and  mourned 
over  its  idolatry,  and  degradation,  will  see  in  these  Christian 
slaves,  emancipated  and  returned  to  their  own  country, 
the  true  missionaries  of  Africa,  and  recognize  in  this  whole 
transaction  the  mysterious  wisdom  of  an  Allwise  Being  who 
by  these  means  will  bring  benighted  Africa  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  Gospel. 

In  connection  with  this  far-sighted  discussion,  President 
Fillmore  presented  an  estimate  of  the  expense  which  the 
execution  of  his  proposed  plan  of  colonization  would  entail, 
and  pointed  out  the  advantages  certain  to  follow  its  execution. 
This  portion  of  his  message  was  for  some  reason  suppressed 
and  was  never  presented  to  Congress.  Doubtless  political 
exigencies  demanded  that  so  radical  a  proposal  for  the  treat 
ment  of  the  vexing  topic  should  not  be  placed  before  the 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        449 

people.  The  suppressed  portion  of  the  message  came  to 
light  only  within  recent  years,  and  may  be  found  included 
in  the  Publications  of  the  Buffalo  Historical  Society,  volume 
x. — Millard  Fillmore  Papers,  edited  by  Frank  H.  Sever 
ance,  Secretary  of  the  Society,  volume  i.,  page  313.  The 
writer  desires  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  Mr. 
Severance  for  this  interesting  sidelight  on  the  history  of 
the  problem. 

Lincoln's  chief  competitor  for  the  nomination  in  the  Re 
publican  National  Convention  at  Chicago  in  1860  was  the 
William  man  wno  above  all  others  was  considered  as  the 
H.  Seward.  protagonist  of  the  anti-slavery  movement,  the 
peerless  political  leader  of  his  day,  the  Hon.  William  H. 
Seward,  twice  Governor  of  New  York,  Senator  of  the  United 
States,  Secretary  of  State  under  two  administrations,  a  student 
and  statesman  of  superior  mould.  In  a  speech  in  the  Lincoln 
campaign  at  Detroit,  September  4,  1860,  he  enunciated  the 
following  unchangeable  expressions  of  truth  regarding  the 
negro  problem: 

The  great  fact  is  now  fully  realized  that  the  African 
race  here  is  a  foreign  and  feeble  element,  like  the  Indians, 
incapable  of  assimilation,  .  .  .  and  that  it  is  a  pitiful 
exotic  unwisely  and  unnecessarily  transplanted  into  our 
fields,  and  which  it  is  unprofitable  to  cultivate  at  the  cost 
of  the  desolation  of  the  native  vineyard. 

In  Lincoln's  Cabinet,  occupying  one  of  the  highest  and 
most  responsible  positions,  was  an  experienced  statesman 
Montgomery  fr°m  a  border  state,  familiar  with  the  negro 
Blair.  character,  its  virtues,  defects,  and  incapacities, 

the  Hon.   Montgomery  Blair,   of  Missouri.     In  a  speech 
delivered  at  Concord,   Massachusetts,  on  June   17,   1863, 
while  Lee  was  entering  upon  his  fateful  Gettysburg  cam 
paign,  the  Postmaster- General  took  occasion  to  say: 
29 


45°  The  Negro  Problem 

All  the  early  patriots  of  the  South — Washington, 
Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  Jackson,  Clay,  and  others — 
were  the  advocates  of  emancipation  and  colonization. 
The  patriots  of  the  North  concurred  in  the  design.  Is  the 
faction  now  opposing  it  patriotic  or  philanthropic?  Are 
they  not  rather,  like  Calhoun,  working  the  negro  question 
to  accomplish  schemes  of  selfish  ambition,  and,  after  his 
method,  making  a  balance-of-power  party  of  a  phalanx  of 
deluded  fanatics,  keeping  the  Union  and  the  public  peace 
perpetually  in  danger,  and  seeking  power  in  the  govern 
ment  through  its  distractions  ?  The  author  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  and  his  associates  declared  EQUAL 
RIGHTS  impracticable  in  society  constituted  of  masses 
of  different  races.  De  Tocqueville,  the  most  profound 
writer  of  the  Old  World  on  American  institutions,  predicts 
the  extermination  of  the  blacks,  if  it  is  attempted  to  confer 
such  rights  on  them  in  the  United  States.  It  is  obvious 
that  an  election  would  be  a  mockery  in  a  community 
wherein  there  could  be  no  other  than  BLACK  and  WHITE 
parties.  In  such  communities,  reason  and  experience 
show  that  one  or  the  other  race  must  be  the  dominant 
race,  and  that  democracy  is  impossible.  .  .  .  They  are 
not  ambitious  of  ruling  white  men,  and  will,  I  believe, 
be  contented  to  set  up  for  themselves,  in  some  neighbor 
ing  and  congenial  clime,  on  the  plan  of  Jefferson  and 
Lincoln. 

Even  after  the  Reconstruction  era  had  set  in,  and  the  saner 
views  of  the  earlier  statesmen  had  been  forgotten  in  the 
Ulysses  S.  passion  of  hatred,  prejudice,  and  ignorance  which 
Grant.  swept  over  the  nation  when  the  fantastic  theo 
ries  of  Phillips,  Sumner,  and  Stevens  had  succeeded  to 
the  practical  statesmanship  of  Clay,  Webster,  and  Lincoln, 
there  yet  remained  one  sagacious  mind  which,  although 
unschooled  in  political  theories,  grasped  with  an  intuitively 
friendly  instinct  the  idea  that  the  welfare  of  the  negro  race 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        451 

depended  upon  its  absolute  separation  from  the  Caucasian 
in  the  South. 

General  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  while  President,  negotiated 
with  San  Domingo  the  treaty  which  has  been  heretofore 
referred  to,  and  in  regard  to  which  he  said  in  his  Message 
to  the  Senate  that  it  was  designed  to  afford  a  refuge  for  the 
unfortunate  black  population  of  the  South.  Recurring 
again  to  the  subject  in  his  personal  memoirs  penned  in  his 
dying  hours,  we  find  him  saying,  at  page  550,  in  justification 
of  his  action  in  this  regard: 

The  condition  of  the  colored  man  within  our  borders  may 
become  a  source  of  anxiety,  to  say  the  least.  ...  It  was 
looking  to  a  settlement  of  this  question  that  led  me  to  urge 
the  annexation  of  San  Domingo  during  the  time  I  was 
President  of  the  United  States.  San  Domingo  was  freely 
offered  to  us,  not  only  by  the  administration  but  by  all 
the  people,  almost  without  price.  The  island  is  upon  our 
shores,  is  very  fertile,  and  is  capable  of  supporting  fifteen 
million  of  people.  The  products  of  the  soil  are  so  valuable 
that  labor  in  her  fields  would  be  so  compensated  as  to 
enable  those  who  wished  to  go  there  to  quickly  repay  the 
cost  of  their  passage.  I  took  it  that  the  colored  people 
would  go  there  in  great  numbers,  so  as  to  have  independent 
states  governed  by  their  own  race.  They  would  still  be 
states  of  the  Union,  and  under  the  protection  of  the  general 
government,  but  the  citizens  would  be  almost  wholly 
colored. 

t 

The  benign  purpose  of  this  great  American,  as  eminent 
in  peace  as  in  war,  was  frustrated  by  the  ill-judged  action 
of  the  smaller  politicians  around  him,  but  Hayti  and  San  Do 
mingo  still  remain,  and  the  black  man  may  yet  avail  himself 
of  the  opportunities  which  they  offer. 

Few  of  our  American  statesmen  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  past 


452  The  Negro  Problem 

century  were  gifted  with  clearer  perception  of  the  true  foun 
dation  of  our  national  greatness,  and  greater  philosophic  in- 
John  J.  sight  into  the  character  of  the  measures  necessary 
Ingalls.  to  secure  its  permanency  than  John  J.  Ingalls, 
the  illustrious  Senator  from  Kansas.  He  was  heartily  in 
favor  of  the  removal  of  the  negro  race  from  our  shores.  In 
the  Chicago  Tribune  of  May  28,  1893,  he  thus  approves  the 
solution  of  Lincoln: 

If  this  condition  is  the  inevitable  consequence  of  the 
contact  of  the  two  races,  separation,  voluntary  or  com 
pulsory,  at  whatever  cost,  is  the  dictate  of  wisdom,  morality, 
and  national  safety.  If  reconciliation  upon  the  basis  of 
justice  and  equal  rights  is  impossible,  then  migration  to 
Africa  should  be  the  policy  of  the  future.  To  that  fertile 
continent  from  whence  they  came  they  would  return,  not 
as  aliens  and  strangers,  but  to  the  manner  born.  To  their 
savage  kindred  who  still  swarm  in  its  solitudes  they  would 
bring  the  alphabet,  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  the  Bible.  Emancipated  from  the  traditions  of  bond 
age,  from  the  habit  of  obedience  and  imitation,  from  the 
knowledge  of  its  vices,  which  is  the  only  instruction  of 
a  strong  race  to  a  weaker,  the  African  might  develop 
along  his  axis  of  growth  and  Ethiopia  stretch  out  her  hand 
to  God. 

The  negro  might  not  want  to  go.  He  is  a  native.  He 
is  a  citizen.  He  has  the  right  to  stay.  So  he  has  the  right 
to  vote.  He  has  the  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  He  has  been  deprived  of  them  all.  Only  the 
right  of  domicile  remains.  He  could,  perhaps,  submit 
to  the  loss  of  this  with  the  same  resignation  which  has 
accompanied  his  surrender  of  the  rest.  There  are  vague 
indications  of  cleavage.  In  some  regions  the  inertia  is 
being  overcome.  Communities  are  pervaded  by  aimless 
agitations  like  those  which  preceded  the  flight  of  the 
Tartar  tribe  across  the  desert.  The  "exodus"  is  an  inti- 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts         453 

mation  of  what  may  follow.  The  feasibility  of  this  coloni 
zation  of  Africa,  the  cost  and  conditions  of  a  migration 
so  prodigious,  its  effect  upon  the  civilization  of  the  two 
continents  and  the  destiny  of  the  two  races,  are  subjects 
too  vast  and  momentous  for  consideration. 


Turning  now  from  the  statesmen  of  this  wiser  era,  in 
structed  by  their  well  considered  expressions  of  opinion, 
Foreign  to  the  opinions  of  well  qualified  foreigners,  we 
Opinions.  fmcj  fna|-  ^wo  eminent  philosophic  observers  of 
our  institutions  coming  from  other  lands  have  likewise 
been  of  the  belief  that  the  logical  solution  of  the  negro 
problem  lies  in  the  removal  of  the  race  from  this  country. 

In  1832,  the  distinguished  Alexis  Charles  de  Tocqueville 

visited  the  United  States,  and  upon  his  return  to  France 

published  one  of  the  most  acute  and  comprehen- 

Ctarles        s^ve  descriptions  of  the  polity  and   institutions 

De  Tocque-  of  ^ne  country  which  has  ever  been  produced, 
ville.  ,  , 

entitled  De  la  D  mocratie  en  Amerique.      This 

work,  upon  its  production,  created  a  profound  impression. 
It  first  informed  the  world  as  to  the  general  character  and 
trend  of  American  social  and  political  institutions,  and  with 
predictive  accuracy  pointed  out  many  of  the  weaknesses 
which  would  be,  and  which  have  since  been,  developed  in  our 
system  of  government.  Since  its  publication,  the  work  has 
grown  in  the  appreciation  of  those  familiar  with  its  contents 
and  purpose. 

The  author  had  an  almost  prophetic  instinct  as  to  the 
developments  of  American  democracy,  and  save  only  the 
corresponding  work  of  the  Hon.  James  Bryce,  entitled 
The  American  Commonwealth,  his  book  has  not  been  paral 
leled  as  an  accurate  study  of  American  institutions  from 
a  foreign  point  of  view.  Indeed,  the  two  works,  published 
sixty  years  apart,  are  in  a  class  by  themselves. 


454  The  Negro  Problem 

De  Tocqueville's  second  volume  contains  a  careful  study 
of  the  negro  question  as  it  then  presented  itself  to  that  philo 
sophic  observer.  He  devotes  about  forty  pages  to  a  dis 
cussion  of  the  question,  tracing  the  history  and  conditions 
of  the  negro  problem  as  it  stood  at  that  day,  and  reaching 
conclusions  which  the  ensuing  three-quarters  of  a  century 
have  only  served  to  establish  as  accurate. 

He  repudiated  all  thought  of  amalgamation,  exposed  the 
wretchedness  of  the  slavery  system,  and  foretold  the  weakness 
of  that  institution  when  subjected  to  a  final  test,  pointed  out 
how  the  presence  of  the  negro  clouded  the  future  of  the 
South,  characterized  the  establishment  of  the  Liberian 
settlement,  then  a  novel  experiment,  as  founded  upon  a 
lofty  and  fruitful  idea,  and,  while  taking  a  pessimistic  view 
of  the  outcome  of  the  problem,  could  discern  in  the  separa 
tion  of  the  races  alone  any  prospect  of  amelioration. 

He  says  (Democracy  in  America,  translated  by  Henry 
Reeve,  Third  Edition;  London:  Sanders  &  Otley,  Conduit 
Street,  1838,  page  238): 

As  soon  as  it  is  admitted  that  the  whites  and  the  emanci 
pated  blacks  are  placed  upon  the  same  territory  in  the 
situation  of  two  alien  communities,  it  will  readily  be  under 
stood  that  there  are  but  two  alternatives  for  the  future: 
the  negroes  and  the  whites  must  either  wholly  part  or 
wholly  mingle.  I  have  already  expressed  the  conviction 
which  I  entertain  as  to  the  latter  event.  I  do  not  imagine 
that  the  white  and  the  black  races  will  ever  live  in  any 
country  upon  an  equal  footing.  But  I  believe  the  difficulty 
to  be  still  greater  in  the  United  States  than  elsewhere. 
An  isolated  individual  may  surmount  the  prejudices  of 
religion,  of  his  country,  or  of  his  race,  and  if  this  individual 
is  a  king,  he  may  effect  surprising  changes  in  society;  but 
a  wrhole  people  cannot  rise,  as  it  were,  above  itself.  A 
despot  who  should  subject  the  Americans  and  their  former 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        455 

slaves  to  the  same  yoke  might  perhaps  succeed  in  comming 
ling  their  races;  but  as  long  as  the  American  democracy 
remains  at  the  head  of  affairs,  no  one  will  undertake  so 
difficult  a  task;  and  it  may  be  foreseen  that  the  freer  the 
white  population  of  the  United  States  becomes  the  more 
isolated  will  it  remain. 

The  Hon.  James  Bryce,  in  his  great  work  on  The  Ameri 
can  Commonwealth,  expresses  in  like  manner  a  profound 
James  disbelief  in  the  possibility  of  continuing  a  democ- 
Bryce.  racy  basecj  UpOn  such  discordant  and  inharmo 
nious  elements.  Writing  in  1891,  he  says: 

Thoughtful  observers  in  the  South  seem  to  feel  little 
anxiety,  and  expect  that  for  many  years  to  come  the 
negroes,  naturally  an  easy-going  and  good-natured  race,  will 
be  content  with  the  position  of  an  inferior  caste,  doing  the 
hard  work,  and  especially  the  field  work,  of  the  country, 
but  becoming  gradually  permeated  with  American  habits 
and  ideas,  and  sending  up  into  the  higher  walks  of  life 
a  slowly  increasing  number  of  their  ablest  members. 

Our  own  students  of  the  great  problem,  especially  those 
of  the  South,  where  the  lessons  of  the  decades  are  being 
gradually  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  thinking  men,  have 
not  been  slow  to  discover  and  assert  the  truth  that  the  only 
remedy  for  the  evil  which  afflicts  their  people  is  the  removal 
of  the  African  race.  It  is  true  that  they  are  doing  this  in  a 
somewhat  halting  fashion,  frequently  discussing  the  feasi 
bility  of  the  establishment  of  the  negro  population  in  some 
portion  of  the  United  States  as  a  separate  community,  a 
plan  already  discarded  as  erroneous  in  theory  and  imprac 
ticable  in  execution.  But  the  leaven  is  at  work,  and  with 
the  awakened  perception  of  the  need  of  this  great  change 
of  thought  and  the  attainability  of  a  more  radical  solution, 
will  come  the  foresight  and  resolution  to  execute  the  plan 
of  assisted  emigration  in  an  effective  manner. 


456  The  Negro  Problem 

The  following  quotation  is  from  the  scholarly  work  of 
John  C.  Reed,  entitled,  The  Brothers'  War,  published  in 
1905,  whose  words  indicate  a  spirit  of  acceptance  of  the 
coming  change  of  attitude  (page  413): 

Righteousness  demands  that  we  give  the  negro  full 
opportunity  to  develop  normally  in  self-government.  Put 
him  in  a  state  of  his  own  on  our  continent;  provide  irre- 
pealably  in  the  organic  law  that  all  land  and  public  service 
franchises  be  common  property;  give  no  political  rights 
therein  to  those  of  any  other  race  than  the  African ;  compel 
nobody  to  settle  in  this  state,  but  let  every  black  reside 
in  whatever  part  of  the  nation  that  pleases  him;  let  this 
community,  while  in  a  territorial  condition  and  also  for  a 
reasonable  time  after  it  has  been  admitted  as  a  state,  be 
faithfully  superintended  by  the  nation  in  order  that  re 
publican  government  be  there  preserved — do  these  things, 
and  there  need  be  no  fear  that  the  examples  of  Hayti  and 
San  Domingo,  which  were  not  so  superintended,  will  be 
repeated. 

The  spirit  animating  this  passage  is  worthy  of  all  com 
mendation,  but  how  woefully  the  execution  of  such  a  project 
would  fall  short  of  being  a  solution  of  the  negro  problem! 

Mr.  William  P.  Calhoun,  of  Edgefield,  North  Carolina, 
is  one  of  the  many  other  advanced  thinkers  of  the  South 
William  P  w^°  ^ave  adopted  Lincoln's  views  and  who  read 
Calhoun.  the  future  destiny  of  the  negro  as  depending 
upon  separation  from  his  white  competitor.  In  his 
interesting  and  instructive  work,  The  Caucasian  and  the 
Negro,  published  in  1902,  after  analyzing  the  elements  of 
the  question  and  pointing  out  the  fact  that  the  removal  of 
the  negro  would  bring  about  an  immediate  influx  of  de 
sirable  immigrants,  he  propounds  the  following  solution  of 
the  problem  (page  145) : 

It  is  not  desired  to  deprive  the  negro  of  his  constitutional 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        457 

rights  or  drive  him  from  the  United  States.  It  is  desired 
to  let  him  remain  in  the  United  States,  and  enjoy  perfect 
political  freedom  without  interference  from  the  Caucasian. 
Place  him  where  he  will  have  his  own  state  government; 
where  he  can  elect  his  own  state  officers,  United  States 
Senators  and  Congressmen;  where  he  can  vote  and  his 
vote  will  be  counted;  and  WHERE  HE  WILL  BE  SEPARATE 
FROM  THE  WHITE  MAN  ABSOLUTELY;  where  it  will  be  a 
crime  for  any  white  man  to  live  in  the  same  state  with  him ; 
where  he  can  prove  his  right  to  be  a  freeman,  and  where, 
untrammelled,  he  can  show  his  ability  to  govern  himself, 
improve  his  morals,  and  show  that  he  is  the  equal  of  the 
white  man. 

In  forcible  words  Mr.  Calhoun  presents  as  the  alternative 
of  his  plan  the  gradual  extermination  of  the  negro  race  as 
certain  to  result  from  the  development  of  future  conditions. 

The  present-day  statesmen  of  the  South,  too,  are  beginning 
to  see  a  great  light  upon  this  subject.  Even  the  belligerent 
Senator  Tillman  has  progressed  so  far  as  to  say  (Speech  in 
United  States  Senate,  February  23-24,  1903)  that,  difficult 
as  the  proposition  of  colonization  might  be,  he  would  yet 
favor  it  if  it  could  be  shown  to  be  practicable. 

Ex-Governor  William  Dorsey  Jelks,  of  Alabama,   in  a 

Ex-Gover-    recent  discussion  in  the  North  American  Review 

nor  Jelks  of 

Alabama.      (February  15,  1907)  remarks: 

I  should  welcome,  on  some  surprising  and  sunny  morning, 
the  presence  of  an  air-ship  at  every  cabin  door  to  bear  these 
people  away  to  some  happy  land  of  their  own.  We  might 
hope  that  after  a  hundred  years  in  this  half-way  home  they 
would  construct  and  build  a  government  satisfactory  for  their 
purposes.  A  great  caravan  of  air-ships  would  bring  oppor 
tunity  to  the  colored  man  and  blessings  to  the  race  left  be 
hind  him.  But  the  air-ship  will  not  come,  nor  will  the  South 
be  drained  of  the  negroes,  as  suggested  by  Senator  Morgan, 
or,  if  it  is  to  be  drained,  the  end  will  be  so  indefinitely  in 


458  The  Negro  Problem 

the  future  that  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  discuss  the  sug 
gestion  now. 

The  ex- Governor  need  not  despair.  If  he  can  bring  the 
people  of  his  State  to  his  condition  of  thought  upon  the 
negro  problem,  a  sufficiency  of  means  for  the  transportation 
of  the  negro  will  be  found  without  resorting  to  the  expedient 
of  aerial  navigation. 

At  least,  so  thinks  the  present  Governor  of  Florida,  the 
Hon.  Napoleon  Bonaparte  Broward,  who,  realizing  the  dis- 
Governor  advantage  under  which  his  state  suffers  by  reason 

Broward  of  of  its  numerous  negro  population,  in  his  recent 
Florida.         ,  _  ,_..,_ 

Message   to    the    Florida  Legislature    presented 

for  their  consideration  the  following  suggestion: 

There  has  been  no  agitation,  as  in  some  other  states, 
that  the  expense  of  running  negro  schools  should  be  derived 
from  the  assessment  and  collection  from  the  property  of 
the  white  people.  In  fact,  no  question  has  arisen  to  cause 
any  disturbance,  yet  it  is  apparent  to  even  the  casual  ob 
server  that  the  relation  between  the  two  races  is  becoming 
more  strained  and  acute.  The  negroes  to-day  have  less 
friendship  for  the  white  people  than  they  have  ever  had 
since  the  Civil  War,  and  the  white  people  have  less  tolerance 
and  sympathy  for  the  negro.  It  is  my  opinion  that  the 
two  races  will  not,  for  any  great  length  of  time,  occupy 
the  same  territory  without  friction  and  outbreaks  of  dis 
order  between  the  two. 

I  doubt  if  education  can  possibly  tend  to  the  happiness 
of  any  race  so  long  as  it  only  aids  in  a  keener  discernment 
of  the  hopeless  differences  existing  between  that  race  and 
a  dominant  race  in  the  same  country  and  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  The  educated  negro  can  look  back  with 
no  pride  upon  the  past  history  of  his  race,  nor  can  he  look 
forward  to  a  time  when  his  race  can  hope  to  control  the 
politics  of  the  country  or  regulate  society. 

I  deem  it  best  and,  therefore,  recommend  a  resolution 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        459 

memorializing  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  purchase 
territory,  either  domestic  or  foreign,  and  provide  means 
to  purchase  the  property  of  the  negroes,  at  reasonable 
prices,  and  to  transport  the  negroes  to  the  territory  pur 
chased  by  the  United  States.  The  United  States  to 
organize  a  government  for  them  of  the  negro  race;  to 
protect  them  from  foreign  invasion;  to  prevent  white 
people  from  living  among  them  in  the  territory,  and  to 
prevent  negroes  from  migrating  back  to  the  United  States. 
I  believe  this  to  be  the  only  hope  of  a  solution  of  the  race 
problem  between  the  white  and  black  races,  as  I  can  see 
no  ultimate  good  results  that  can  accrue  from  the  education 
of  a  race,  without  planting  in  their  being  the  hope  of  at 
taining  the  highest  position  in  government  affairs  and 
society.  In  fact,  I  can  see  no  reason  to  expect  that  any 
man  can  be  made  happy  by  whetting  his  intelligence  to 
that  point  where  he  can  better  contemplate  or  realize  the 
hopeless  gulf  that  must  ever  separate  him  and  his  race 
from  the  best  things  that  the  dominant  race  (who  employ 
him  as  a  servant)  have  in  store  for  themselves.  I  believe 
that  any  person  so  situated  would  grow  miserable,  in  pro 
portion  as  he  increased  in  intelligence.  I  believe  that  we 
should  consider  the  fact  that  the  negroes  are  the  wards  of 
the  white  people,  and  that  it  is  our  duty  to  make  whatever 
provision  for  them  would  be  best  for  their  well-being;  and 
it  is  my  opinion  that  the  above  recommendation,  that 
they  be  given  a  home  of  their  own,  where  they  can  hope 
by  living  proper  lives,  to  occupy  the  highest  places  in  it, 
thus  educating  and  civilizing  them,  may  tend  toward  their 
happiness  and  good.  More  especially  do  I  make  this 
recommendation  for  the  good  of  the  white  race;  to  keep 
sweet  the  lives  of  the  white  people ;  to  keep  their  consciences 
keen  and  clean.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  civilization 
and  Christianization  of  the  world  by  them.  Our  children 
must  be  able  to  read  the  history  of  our  lives  and  see  that 
it  contains  accounts  of  the  best  lived  lives,  and  that  their 
ancestors  were  the  best  people  of  the  earth.  Whatever 


460  The  Negro  Problem 

tends  to  sour  our  natures,  or  that  causes  us  to  give  way 
to  passion  or  temper,  tends  to  destroy  us,  and  no  cost 
should  be  considered  in  a  matter  so  fraught  with  danger 
to  the  attainment  of  the  civilization  and  Christianization 
of  the  world  as  will  the  attempt  to  compel  these  two  races 
to  live  in  the  same  territory. 

These  sentiments  of  Governor  Broward  present  the  prac 
tical  views  of  the  most  advanced  Southern  thought  upon 
the  situation,  and  certainly  if  legislative  action  of  the  char 
acter  suggested  by  the  Governor  were  taken  by  Florida  and 
followed  by  similar  requests  on  the  part  of  other  Southern 
States,  the  negro  problem  would  be  in  a  fair  way  to  early 
solution,  could  the  co-operation  of  the  North  be  secured  to 
carry  out  his  plan. 

Nor  have  the  representatives  of  the  African  race  been 
content  to  remain  silent  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject. 
The  Negro's  Passages  in  disparagement  of  the  proposition 
View.  of  colonization  from  the  writings  of  some  of 

those  possessing  what  little  of  distinction  and  emolument 
the  African  is  permitted  to  enjoy  in  this  white  man's 
country  might  readily  be  quoted.  But  there  are  others 
of  more  elevated  thought,  who,  with  keener  discernment  of 
the  inevitable  injury  inflicted  upon  their  race  by  perpetual 
subordination  to  the  dominant  class,  have  found  occasion 
to  give  utterance  to  the  sentiments  of  that  mute,  restless, 
dissatisfied  but  thinking  element  of  the  negro  men  and 
women  of  the  South,  who  are  eager  to  embark  upon  any 
reasonable  enterprise  which  offers  to  them  freedom  and 
opportunity. 

Many  extracts  from  the  writings  of  prominent  negroes 
of  this  more  enlightened  class  might  be  presented.  We  know 
that  Bishop  Lucius  H.  Halsey,  D.D.,  of  the  Colored  Metho 
dist  Episcopal  Church,  has  been  recorded  as  saying  that 
"the  Union  of  the  States  will  never  be  fully  and  perfectly 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        461 

recemented  with  tenacious  integrity  until  black  Ham  and 
white  Japheth  dwell  together  in  separate  tents,"  and  that 
he  is  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  absolute  separation  of  the 
races. 

But  above  all,  as  the  foremost  and  most  consistent  ad 
vocate  and  promoter  of  the  solution  of  the  problem  by  the 
assisted  emigration  and  colonization  of  the  negro  race,  is  the 
learned  and  venerable  Bishop  Henry  M.  Turner,  of  the  Afri 
can  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  who,  from  his  wide  ac 
quaintance  with  the  conditions  of  his  race  in  this  country  and 
in  Africa,  and  by  his  long  study  of  the  elements  of  the  problem 
in  its  legal,  social,  and  industrial  aspects,  is  of  the  men  of  his 
race  one  of  the  best  qualified  for  leadership  in  this  matter. 
In  a  letter  to  the  author  under  date  of  January  12,  1907,  in 
speaking  of  the  plan  of  Lincoln  as  it  was  proposed  to  develop 
it  in  this  work,  he  said: 

The  plan  will  meet  with  the  approval  of  all  sober  think 
ing  people,  and  it  will  have  the  endorsement  of  the  God 
of  the  Universe.  The  presencs  of  the  black  man  in  this 
country  is  a  curse  to  both  races.  It  keeps  the  white  man 
lying,  stealing,  misrepresenting,  and  the  black  man  abusing, 
vilifying,  and  cursing,  and  neither  white  nor  black  can  be 
Christian.  I  pray  God  you  will  continue  in  the  great  work 
in  which  you  are  engaged,  and  move  this  country  to  help 
the  negro  to  emigrate  to  the  land  of  his  ancestors. 

I  know  all  about  Africa.  I  have  been  from  one  end  of 
it  to  the  other.  I  have  visited  that  continent  as  often 
as  I  have  ringers  upon  my  hand,  and  it  is  one  of  the  richest 
continents  under  heaven  in  natural  resources.  This  coun 
try  is  not  compared  to  it,  and  millions  of  colored  people  in 
this  country  want  to  go.  But  to  pay  our  way  to  New 
York,  then  to  Liverpool  and  then  to  Africa  is  too  much 
for  the  little  wages  the  white  people  pay  to  our  workers. 
Give  us  a  line  of  steamers  from  Savannah,  Georgia;  Charles 
ton,  South  Carolina;  Pensacola,  Florida;  or  New  Orleans, 


462  The  Negro  Problem 

Louisiana,  and  let  us  pay  as  much  as  the  million  or  more 
white  immigrants  pay  coming  from  Liverpool,  London, 
and  Hamburg  to  this  country,  and  the  negro  will  leave 
by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  yes.  by  millions. 
And  you  white  people  will  have  peace  and  Christianity, 
and  the  black  people  will  have  peace,  wealth,  Christianity, 
and  be  a  blessing  to  the  world. 

Could  the  sentiments  of  this  distinguished  leader  of  the 
Church  find  lasting  acceptance  in  the  minds  of  his  people, 
and  the  solicited  co-operation  of  this  wealthy  country  be 
secured,  the  baneful  negro  problem,  which  has  cursed  our 
land  for  centuries,  and  which  threatens  still  further  to  mar 
our  development,  would  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past. 

In  thus  perpetuating  the  testimony  of  the  experts,  the 
limitations  of  space  have  required  them  to  be  restricted  to 
quotations  from  the  expressed  views  of  those  who  by  ex 
perience  and  official  standing  are  entitled  to  command 
weighty  consideration.  Volumes  could  be  filled  with  the 
presentation  of  the  opinions  of  white  men  and  black  men  to 
the  effect  that  this  solution  of  the  problem  is  the  only  feasible 
one,  and  that  it  should  command  instant  adoption. 

Why,  then,  is  it  not  universally  accepted  and  placed  in 
present  operation?  Simply  and  solely,  the  belief  is  com 
pelled,  because  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  hitherto 
failed  to  realize  the  danger  of  allowing  the  question  to  remain 
unsettled,  and  have  lacked  proper  appreciation  of  the  suffi 
ciency  of  the  resources  of  our  country  to  accomplish  the 
solution.  It  requires  no  small  effort  of  the  imagination  to 
forecast  the  beneficent  results  which  would  follow  from  the 
departure  of  the  African  race  from  our  shores,  and  its  es 
tablishment  in  honorable  prosperity  in  some  more  favoring 
locality. 

The  negro  is  willing  to  go.  The  ineffectual  westward 
movements  of  the  negro  population  from  time  to  time,  some- 


The  Testimony  of  the  Experts        463 

times  dignified  by  the  term  " negro  exodus,"  the  steady 
drift  of  its  more  enterprising  members  to  the  North,  the 
constant  protest  against  present  infelicitous  conditions,  all 
clearly  indicate  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  black  man  to 
sunder  his  existing  bonds  and  to  establish  himself  apart  from 
present  repressing  influences. 

Alike  from  what  has  been  presented  of  the  opinions  of 
the  statesmen  of  preceding  generations,  from  the  enlight 
ened  comments  of  philosophic  observers  from  other  lands, 
from  the  current  recommendations  of  those  qualified  to  un 
derstand  the  necessity  of  a  solution  of  the  problem,  and 
especially  from  the  appeal  of  the  leaders  of  the  African  pop 
ulation  itself,  we  can  draw  the  conclusion  that  the  solution 
lies  in  the  separation  of  the  races,  and  that  we  must  not 
permit  a  transitory  delusion  that  citizenship  and  prosperity 
may  yet  come  to  the  negro  in  the  United  States  to  continue 
us  in  the  path  of  a  policy  absolutely  certain  to  lead  to  results 
not  only  detrimental  to  the  negro,  but  perilous  to  the  future 
welfare  of  our  people. 


BOOK  IV 

The  Results  of  the  Solution 


465 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  DOOR  OF  HOPE  FOR  /THE  NEGRO 

I  suppose  one  of  the  principal  difficulties  in  the  way  of  colonization 
is  that  the  free  colored  man  cannot  see  that  his  comfort  would 
be  advanced  by  it.  You  may  believe  that  you  can  live  in 
Washington,  or  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  the  remainder 
of  your  life  as  easily,  perhaps  more  so,  than  you  can  in  any  for 
eign  country;  and  hence  you  may  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
you  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  idea  of  going  to  a  foreign  coun 
try.  This  is  (I  speak  in  no  unkind  sense)  an  extremely  selfish 
view  of  the  case.  You  ought  to  do  something  to  help  those 
who  are  not  so  fortunate  as  yourselves.  There  is  an  unwilling 
ness  on  the  part  of  our  people,  harsh  as  it  may  be,  for  you 
free  colored  people  to  remain  with  us.  Now,  if  you  could 
give  a  start  to  the  white  people,  you  w^ould  open  a  wide  door 
for  many  to  be  made  free.  If  we  deal  with  those  who  are  not 
free  at  the  beginning,  and  whose  intellects  are  clouded  by 
slavery,  we  have  very  poor  material  to  start  with.  If  in 
telligent  colored  men,  such  as  are  before  me,  would  move  in 
this  matter,  much  might  be  accomplished.  It  is  exceedingly 
important  that  we  have  men  at  the  beginning  capable  of 
thinking  as  white  men,  and  not  those  who  have  been  syste 
matically  oppressed.  There  is  much  to  encourage  you.  For 
the  sake  of  your  race  you  should  sacrifice  something  of  your 
present  comfort  for  the  purpose  of  being  as  grand  in  that 
respect  as  the  white  people.  It  is  a  cheering  thought  through 
out  life  that  something  can  be  done  to  ameliorate  the  con 
dition  of  those  who  have  been  subject  to  the  hard  usages  of  the 
world. — ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Address  to  negroes,  Aug.  14^ 
1862. 

IN  these  few  well  judged  remarks  the  sympathetic  President 
pointed  out  to  the  representatives  of  the  negro  race  the 
opportunity  then  presented  to  them  to  assume  leadership 
of  their  downtrodden  people,  and  the  duty  devolving  upon 

467 


468  The  Negro  Problem 

them  to  sacrifice,  for  the  moment,  ease  and  comfort,  in  order 
to  assure  to  themselves  and  their  posterity  the  ultimate 
benefits  offered  by  his  plan  for  colonization. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  no  effort  has  been  spared  to 
impress  upon  the  reader  the  weighty  character  of  the  problem, 
the  insistent  demand  for  its  solution,  and  the  inadequacy 
of  the  currently  proposed  remedies.  In  the  last  preceding 
book,  the  writer  sought  to  point  out  in  what  manner  and  with 
what  difficulties  an  adjustment  of  the  vexatious  race  problem 
may  be  effected,  and  to  meet  such  objections  as  might  be 
plausibly  advanced  against  the  adoption  and  execution  of 
the  plan  proposed  by  Abraham  Lincoln.  This  task  having 
been  in  a  measure  accomplished,  the  endeavor  will  now  be 
made  to  establish  that  the  adoption  and  fulfilment  of  the 
plan  would  be  followed  by  results  more  than  commensurate 
with  the  expense  and  difficulty  of  carrying  it  into  execution. 
For  in  such  a  weighty  matter,  concerning  the  interests  of 
nearly  ninety  million  people,  and  involving  a  complete 
readjustment  of  economic  conditions  throughout  an  im 
portant  section  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  expenditure 
of  immense  sums  of  money  for  its  effectuation,  the  most 
careful  forethought  should  be  exercised  to  ascertain  what 
results  are  likely  to  ensue  from  the  adoption  of  so  radical 
a  measure,  and  whether-  the  advantages  to  be  derived  will 
repay  the  labor  and  outlay.  All  the  more  is  this  the  case 
as  the  plan  proposed  will  require  on  the  part  of  the  members 
of  the  race  most  intimately  concerned  a  radical  change  of 
attitude  toward  their  future  development  in  spirit  as  well 
as  in  location. 

Now,  what  in  general,  will  be  the  result  of  the  prosecution 
of  such  an  enterprise,  unparalleled  in  its  character  and 
Negro  magnitude  in  the  annals  of  mankind?  Pre- 

th^^rind-  nminarily>  it  may  be  noted  that  in  the  majority 
pal  Object,  of  plans  presented  based  upon  the  solution  of  the 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro     469 

problem  through  the  elimination  of  the  negro,  but  little 
heed  is  given  to  the  result  upon  the  members  of  that 
hitherto  unfortunate  people.  Such  was  not  Lincoln's  way 
of  dealing  with  the  situation. 

In  a  general  way,  it  seems  to  be  assumed  by  those  advo 
cating  schemes  of  colonization  as  the  true  solution  that  all 
that  is  necessary  for  their  success  is  in  some  way  to  get  rid 
of  the  negro,  and  that  all  difficulties  attending  the  subject 
will  immediately  vanish,  with  his  disappearance.  It  is  a 
narrow  conception  of  the  character  of  the  problem  to  believe 
that  if  the  negro  race  can  in  some  way  be  induced  to  segregate 
itself  from  the  white  population  its  future  welfare  is  a  matter 
of  but  little  concern,  and  that  the  benefits  accruing  to  the 
locality  whence  it  departs  are  so  certain  to  follow,  that  the 
success  of  such  a  remedy  is  assured.  Before  taking  this  for 
granted,  therefore,  it  is  well  for  us  to  pause  for  a  moment 
to  examine  the  question  of  benefits  to  be  derived,  and  at  the 
outset  to  give  attention  to  the  effect  upon  the  future  welfare 
of  the  negro  race  of  so  radical  a  proposition  as  that  of  Lincoln. 

The  discussion  may  be  premised  by  saying  that  it  would 
be  an  injustice  to  the  memory  of  that  far-sighted  and  sympa 
thetic  statesman  to  consider  for  a  moment  that  in  his  project 
for  accomplishing  the  removal  of  the  negro  from  this  country 
he  regarded  our  duty  toward  that  race  as  being  adequately  per 
formed.  So  far  as  the  great  emancipator  had  elaborated  his 
theory  of  assisted  emigration,  it  plainly  contemplated  the  most 
liberal  treatment  for  the  negro  during  its  prosecution,  and  the 
continued  exercise  of  watchful  care  over  the  future  of  the  race 
until  the  success  of  the  experiment  was  assured. 

There  was  no  design  in  his  thought  of  a  base  abandon 
ment  of  a  helpless  race  whose  fortunes  had  been  linked 
with  those  of  the  American  people  for  nearly  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  years.  And  in  like  manner,  as  the  plan 
of  Lincoln  has  been  developed  and  elaborated  in  these  pages, 


47°  The  Negro  Problem 

it  proceeds  upon  the  theory  of  liberal  provision  for  the  wants 
of  the  away-going  negro,  and  the  most  careful  safeguarding 
of  his  interest  as  a  people,  until  his  ability  to  establish  himself 
as  a  nation  upon  a  substantial  foundation  may  be  regarded 
as  demonstrated. 

Assuredly,  the  problem  is  that  of  the  negro  himself.  To 
the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, — 
the  white  people, — the  question  is  not  one  of  the  most  pressing 
and  immediate  concern,  but  to  every  negro,  were  such  a  plan 
as  herein  advocated  put  into  execution,  the  question  would 
have  an  intimate  personal  interest.  It  must,  therefore,  be 
considered  in  what  manner  and  to  what  extent  a  system  of 
assisted  emigration  supplemented  by  colonization  would,  if 
accepted,  be  advantageous  to  that  race. 

In  a  former  chapter  the  attempt  was  made  dispassionately 
to  describe  the  present  condition  of  the  negro  race,  and  to 
show  the  exceedingly  unsatisfactory  character  of  the  re 
lationship  now  existing  between  the  white  and  the  black 
people  in  every  section  of  the  country.  It  is  conceded  by 
all  that  the  present  condition  of  the  problem  is  far  from  one 
of  general  hopefulness.  The  relations  between  the  two 
races,  while  perhaps  on  the  surface  somewhat  less  strained 
than  at  some  former  periods,  remain,  taking  the  country  as  a 
whole,  thoroughly  unsatisfactory. 

In  the  South  the  negroes  have  less  friendship  for  the  white 
people  and  less  confidence  in  the  governing  race  than  at  any 
other  time  since  their  freedom  was  attained,  and  in  like 
manner,  the  white  people  have  less  tolerance  for  the  negro, 
less  sympathy  with  his  shortcomings,  and  a  decreasing 
belief  in  his  value  as  an  industrial  element.  It  has  been 
pointed  out  that  in  all  sections  of  the  country  the  negro's 
general  progress  falls  far  short  of  what  was  confidently 
expected  would  follow  his  enfranchisement. 

In  the  mere  question  of  numbers  he  is  rapidly  losing  ground, 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro     471 

not  by  reason  of  any  lack  of  racial  fecundity,  but  because 
there  annually  enters  the  country  an  influx  of  immigration 
approximately  equalling  one  eighth  of  the  number  of  his 
race.  From  present  indications,  there  will  be  registered 
by  the  Immigration  Bureau  during  the  next  ensuing  ten 
years  a  greater  number  of  immigrants  than  the  whole  number 
of  negroes  in  the  United  States  shown  by  the  last  census. 

The  following  table  shows  separately  the  white  and  negro 
Comparative  PoPulati°n  by  decades  from  the  foundation  of 
Decrease  of   the  government  to  the  year  1907,  together  with 
the  percentage  of  persons  of  African  blood: 


Census 

White 

Negro 

Percentage 

1790 

3,172,006 

757,208 

23-9 

1800 

4,306,446 

1,002,037 

23-3 

1810 

5,862,073 

i,377,8o8 

22  .9 

1820 

7,866,797 

1,771,656 

22.5 

1830 

10,532,060 

2,328,642 

22  .  I 

1840 

14,189,705 

2,873,648 

22.5 

1850 

19,553,068 

3,638,808 

18.6 

1860 

26,922,537 

4,441,830 

i6-5 

1870 

33,589,377 

4,880,009 

14-5 

1880 

43,403,400 

6,580,793 

15-3 

1890 

55,101,258 

7,470,040 

J3-5 

1900 

66,809,196 

8,833,994 

13-3 

19071 

76,756,928 

9,947,057 

12  .9 

The  striking  feature  of  the  foregoing  table  is  its  demonstra 
tion  of  the  regular  and  continuous  decrease  in  the  ratio  of 
the  negro  to  the  white  population.  This  circumstance  is, 
of  course,  principally  due  to  immigration,  from  which  the 
negro  has  gained  but  slightly  in  comparison  with  the  Cau 
casian;  but  the  table  clearly  presages  the  diminishing  im 
portance  of  the  negro  as  a  factor  in  our  national  future,  and 
the  increasing  hopelessness  of  his  struggle  against  the  adverse 
influences  which  beset  him  at  the  present  time. 

1  Approximate  from  Census  Bulletin  71 ;  Estimates  of  Population, 
1904,  1905,  1906. 


472  The  Negro  Problem 

It  is  apparent  from  the  above  presentation  that  the  nu 
merical  importance  of  the  negro  is  rapidly  declining,  and 
will  continue  to  do  so  in  the  future.  The  prospective  in 
crease  of  the  negro  population  has  been  made  the  subject 
of  statistical  investigation,  and  various  conjectures  upon  the 
subject  have  been  ventured. 

Professor  Walter  F.  Wilcox,  of  Cornell  University,  a 
statistician  of  distinguished  reputation,  after  giving  the  sub 
ject  careful  investigation  with  relation  to  the  census  reports, 
arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  increase  of  the  race  will 
be  much  less  marked  in  the  future  than  in  the  past.  After 
a  very  elaborate  study  of  the  social  and  industrial  conditions 
affecting  the  subject  at  the  South,  he  expresses  a  general 
opinion  to  the  effect  that  the  negro  as  a  race  is  losing  ground, 
is  being  confined  more  and  more  to  the  inferior  and  less  re 
munerative  occupations,  and  is  not  sharing  proportionately  to 
his  numbers  in  the  prosperity  of  the  country  as  a  whole  or 
of  the  section  in  which  he  mainly  lives.  It  is  apparent  to 
any  thoughtful  mind  that  under  the  existing  circumstances 
the  outlook  for  the  negro's  welfare  at  the  present  time,  so 
far  as  it  depends  on  relative  population,  is  far  from  cheerful. 

The  South  has  been  enjoying  for  the  past  few  years  an 
unprecedented  prosperity,  in  which  the  negro  has  had  but 
comparatively  meagre  participation.  The  great  demand 
of  that  section  is  for  immigration,  in  order  that  its  resources 
may  be  developed  and  its  boundless  opportunities  for  busi 
ness  enterprise  rendered  available.  Individuals,  corpora 
tions,  and  even  the  different  states  are  offering  inducements 
to  secure  white  immigration,  realizing  that  as  a  factor  in 
her  industrial  development,  for  the  obvious  reasons  herein 
before  discussed,  the  negro  fails  to  give  satisfaction.  So 
long  as  the  industrial,  political,  and  social  circumstances 
surrounding  the  negro  race  in  the  South  retain  their  present 
character,  its  gradual  supplanting  by  white  immigrants  will 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro     473 

continue,  although  the  process  will  be  much  retarded  by  the 
negro's  efforts  to  acquire  land  and  education. 

Already  in  many  of  the  Southern  States,  Northern  capital 
is  enlisted,  seeking  effective  labor,  and,  as  we  have  stated, 
in  many  sections  Germans,  Italians,  and  other  races  are 
taking  advantage  of  the  favorable  opportunities,  so  that  on 
the  whole  it  is  apparent  that,  while  the  extinction  of  the  negro 
race  is  not  for  a  moment  to  be  regarded  as  anything  but  a 
remote  possibility,  the  prospects  are  that  its  position  in  the 
future  will  be  one  of  even  greater  subordination  than  at 
present,  and  its  opportunities  for  advancement  progressively 
will  become  of  the  most  restricted  character. 

Yet  while  this  outlook  is  dark,  it  is  not  on  the  whole  de 
void  of  hope,  as  the  fact  that  the  negro  has  displayed  such 
Ho  e  of  elements  of  progress  under  such  discouraging 
Negro  circumstances  is  a  favorable  harbinger  of  what 

na  1  y*  he  may  accomplish  in  the  future  if  placed  in  a 
position  where  he  may  find  himself  unhampered  by  the 
narrow  limitations  with  which  he  is  at  present  circumscribed. 
His  accumulation  of  property,  the  progress  he  has  made 
in  education,  his  religious  development  during  the  past 
forty  years;  and  above  all,  the  feeling  constantly  being  im 
pressed  and  inculcated  upon  him  that  as  a  race  his  future 
development  depends  upon  his  own  exertions  and  that  dis 
aster  waits  upon  his  assuming  a  dependent  position  toward 
the  white  race;  all  give  augury  that,  emancipated  from  the 
shackles  which  for  centuries  have  impeded  his  development, 
he  may  yet  justify  the  expectation  of  his  well-wishers,  and 
astonish  and  confound  his  enemies  by  acquiring  a  real 
national  existence. 

Remembering  the  periods  of  his  progress, — 

(1)  Countless  generations  of  savagery  on  African  soil; 

(2)  A  few  generations  of  toilsome  slavery  in  America; 

(3)  Two  generations  of  restricted  freedom  as  a  dependent 


474  The  Negro  Problem 

upon  the  superior  white  race,  we  may  trace  in  these  suc 
cessive  stages  of  race  development  a  training  and  prepara 
tion  for  the  FOURTH  and  final  period,  which  contains 
unlimited  possibilities  for  the  establishment  of  a  negro 
nationality. 

In  a  strict  sense,  while  we  occasionally  speak  of  the  negro 
as  a  nation,  there  never  has  been  an  organization  of  the 
people  of  that  race  constituting  a  national  entity  worthy  of 
mention.  In  this  the  negro,  it  is  believed,  is  unique  among 
the  races.  No  matter  how  feeble  or  undeveloped  other 
ethnic  types  may  appear,  there  has  invariably  been  some 
thing  which  may  be  dignified  into  acceptance  as  a  national 
existence,  either  in  embryo  or  decadence.  The  negro  has 
hitherto  been  a  race  and  not  a  nationality.  He  has  founded 
no  government,  established  no  borders,  conducted  no  wars, 
negotiated  no  treaties,  and  participated  in  no  conventions 
except  those  of  tribal  character. 

Japan  emerges  from  her  isolation  on  her  islands  in  the 
sea,  and  in  fifty  years  extorts  from  the  world  admiration 
for  her  scientific,  educational,  and  military  development. 
Even  inert,  impassive  China  commands  a  degree  of  respect 
by  reason  of  her  integral  characteristics.  Overpowered, 
oppressed,  and  'subjected  to  foreign  rule,  Ireland,  Hungary, 
and  Finland  resolutely  refuse  to  relinquish  their  hopes  of 
nationality.  Three  hundred  years  of  Spanish  tyranny  and 
ten  years  of  "benevolent  assimilation"  have  failed  to  ex 
tinguish  in  the  breast  of  the  Filipino  the  undying  desire  that 
his  islands  may  assume  position  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  The  Jew,  oldest  of  all  the  nationalities,  scattered 
throughout  the  world  and  prospering  in  all  countries  but 
his  own,  still  in  hope  of  Zionism,  turns  back  in  thought  to 
the  hills  of  Palestine,  and  dreams  of  his  rehabilitation  as 
one  of  the  important  nations  of  the  earth. 

The  negro  alone,  thus  far,  has  seemed  indifferent  to  the 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro     475 

establishment  of  a  national  existence.  Subjected  to  this 
crucial  test,  before  the  final  solution  of  the  negro  problem 
can  be  achieved,  the  race  must  give  proof  to  the  world  that 
it  is  capable  of  a  self-sustaining  existence  and  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  a  parasitic  element,  drawing  its  nourishment 
from  more  highly  developed  peoples. 

Here  opens  for  the  negro  the  door  of  hope.  The  first 
and  most  obvious  effect  upon  the  negro  race  of  its  accept- 
The  Door  ance  of  the  proposed  plan  of  Lincoln  would  be 
of  Hope.  manifested  in  its  higher  appreciation  by  the 
people  from  whom  it  had  decided  to  separate.  Let  us 
suppose  that  the  negro  people  in  convention  assembled 
should  unanimously  memorialize  Congress  for  permission 
and  assistance  to  emigrate  to  some  suitable  location  in 
Africa,  pledging  on  their  part  an  unstinted  effort  to  make 
such  a  project  a  success, — how  signally  they  would  be  ele 
vated  in  the  estimation  of  the  public  of  the  United  States. 
The  development  of  a  national  aspiration,  the  readiness  to 
undertake  a  difficult  enterprise,  the  desire  to  achieve  real 
freedom  and  enduring  prosperity,  would  command  at  once 
increased  respect  and  win  for  the  negro  in  a  great  degree 
consideration  not  now  accorded  to  him. 

The  discussion  incident  to  such  a  plan,  the  overcoming 
of  obstacles  to  carry  it  into  effect,  the  acquirement  of  the 
political  education  necessary  to  qualify  the  people  of  the 
race  successfully  to  establish  themselves  as  an  autonomous 
government,  would  bring  about  an  intellectual  and  spiritual 
exaltation  of  the  race  impossible  of  attainment  under  their 
present  circumstances.  From  the  day  the  negro  became 
fixed  in  his  resolve  to  take  his  departure,  his  standing  in  the 
eyes  of  the  community  would  undergo  a  transformation, 
and  in  his  own  estimation  he  would  stand  erect,  endowed 
with  the  attributes  of  manhood,  no  longer  a  cringing  de 
pendent  in  meek  acceptance  of  inferiority. 


476  The  Negro  Problem 

In  this  case,  to  be  resolved  is  all.  In  the  North,  good 
wishes  would  accompany  him  in  his  new  venture.  In  the 
South,  while  some  selfish  opposition  to  his  carrying  his 
resolution  into  effect  might  be  expected,  the  groundless  fear 
of  negro  domination  would  pass  away.  Suspicion  would 
be  allayed,  race  conflicts  would  cease,  and  the  years  of 
preparation  for  departure  would  be  quiet  and  undisturbed, 
except  possibly  by  remonstrance  against  removal.  And, 
indeed,  it  is  likely  that  once  the  determination  to  separate 
were  adopted,  inducements  not  now  contemplated  would 
be  offered  to  the  negro  in  the  South  to  persuade  him  to  re 
main.  The  immediate  effect  of  the  resolution  to  emigrate 
would  in  a  large  measure  anticipate  the  blessings  to  the  race 
which  would  ensue  from  its  fulfilment. 

Before  entering  upon  the  fuller  discussion  of  the  advan 
tages  to  be  derived  by  the  negro  from  a  complete  removal  to 
a  new  home,  consideration  may  be  given  to  the  effect  of  some 
of  the  minor  incidents  of  the  plan  upon  the  welfare  of  the 
race.  It  will  not  be  forgotten  that  one  of  the  elements  of 
the  plan  contemplates  the  establishment  of  a  penal  colony 
for  the  confinement  and  reformation  of  wrongdoers  of  the 
African  race.  The  leading  reformers  and  educators  of  the 
negro  race  bitterly  complain  that  their  people  are  judged 
by  the  dissolute  and  criminal  few,  rather  than  by  the  worthy 
and  industrious  many.  True  it  is  that  statistics  establish 
an  undue  percentage  of  negro  criminality. 

Were  this  debased  and  criminal  element  gradually  removed 
from  the  community,  neither  white  nor  black  would  have 
occasion  to  complain.  The  general  feeling  existing  between 
the  races  would  become  more  kindly,  the  progress  of  the 
negro  more  rapid.  His  pride  of  race  would  be  developed, 
opportunities  for  temptation  removed,  the  moral  standing  of 
the  people  advanced,  and  the  difficulties  of  the  situation 
much  alleviated.  The  embarrassment  caused  to  the  honest 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro     477 

and  aspiring  members  of  the  race  by  the  actions  of  their 
unworthy  and  criminal  congeners  would  by  this  means  be 
obviated,  and  the  work  of  assisted  emigration  to  a  great 
extent  facilitated.  That  this  feature  of  the  solution,  if  no 
other  part  should  be  adopted,  would  be  a  benefit  to  the  com 
munity  in  every  section  of  the  country  must  at  once  be 
admitted. 

Another  feature  of  the  proposed  plan,  viz.,  the  employ 
ment  of  negro  laborers  upon  all  public  works  outside  of  the 
country,  would  offer  to  industrious  and  thrifty  negroes  an 
opportunity  to  establish  themselves  in  favorable  circum 
stances.  This,  at  the  present  time,  would  be  operative  prin 
cipally  at  Panama,  where  the  surroundings,  sanitary  and 
otherwise,  are  now  of  a  favorable  character,  and  where  the 
well  paid  negro  could  certainly  expect  to  maintain  a  flour 
ishing  existence  as  a  permanent  element  in  the  .community. 
Not  merely  this,  but  as  in  the  near  future  the  nation  is 
likely  to  have  other  governmental  work  to  be  performed  in 
Lower  California,  Porto  Rico,  Cuba,  and  others  of  the  West 
India  Islands,  this  honorable  system  of  employment  would 
in  no  small  degree  give  negroes  an  opportunity  to  es 
cape  from  the  harsh  conditions  imposed  upon  them  in  this 
country. 

Many,  too,  would  see  their  way  clear  to  adopt  individually, 
as  a  means  of  promoting  their  fortunes,  the  suggested  pro- 
Individual  vision  of  allowing  each  member  of  the  race  a 
Emigration.  certain  sum  of  money  for  establishment  in  a 
new  home  outside  the  country.  Thousands  of  negroes 
annually  leave  the  United  States  for  various  reasons,  going 
to  Mexico,  Cuba,  and  other  lands.  Let  each  of  these  in 
dividually  receive  an  adequate  allowance  for  emigration, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  would  doubtless  prefer  to  es 
tablish  themselves  in  territory  where  race  discrimination 
is  not  enforced  against  them,  and  where  conditions  for  their 


47s  The  Negro  Problem 

maintenance  are  quite  as  favorable  as  those  prevailing  in  any 
section  of  this  country. 

Having  said  this  much  in  regard  to  the  effect  of  the  adoption 
of  the  minor  features  of  the  proposed  plan  for  the  assisted 
emigration  of  the  negro,  let  us  consider  what  would  be  the 
assured  consequence  of  the  successful  attempt  to  establish 
upon  the  African  continent,  in  comfort  and  prosperity,  a 
sufficient  number  of  our  African  fellow-men  to  constitute  a 
thriving,  self-supporting,  and  self-respecting  state.  For  this, 
indeed,  is  the  true  solution  of  the  negro  problem.  This,  and 
this  only,  will  give  to  that  race  the  three  things  so  ardently 
desired : 

First,  political  freedom  and  its  accompanying  intellectual 
development; 

Second,  industrial  opportunity,  freedom  to  possess  the 
soil,  and  to  enjoy  the  fruit  of  its  own  exertion;  and 

Third,  the  opportunity  for  mental  independence  and 
spiritual  development  which  can  only  be  attained  where  the 
first  two  are  in  spirit  and  in  truth  available. 

With  the  adoption  and  execution  of  the  proposed  plan, 
the  grovelling  and  submissive  spirit  of  to-day  would  be 
followed  by  an  elevation  of  mind  hitherto  unknown  to 
the  negro  race.  Enlargement  of  thought  would  gradually 
replace  intellectual  narrowness,  and  a  rational  spirit  of 
religious  belief  and  practice  would  supplant  the  present 
excitable  phases  of  devotional  service. 

No  people  ever  attained  greatness  through  mendicancy. 
The  misfortune  of  the  negro  race  in  the  past  has  been  its 
dependence  industrially,  politically,  religiously,  and  edu 
cationally  upon  the  bounty  of  the  Caucasian.  Indeed,  in 
every  phase  of  its  existence  it  has  been  the  imitator  and 
follower  of  a  superior  civilization,  and  the  crux  of  the  situa 
tion  is  to  be  found  in  the  question  whether  under  the  circum 
stances  which  would  result  from  the  adoption  of  Lincoln's 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro     479 

plan  the  race  would  be  found  equal  to  the  task  of  establishing 
itself  upon  a  self-governing  basis. 

We  ask  ourselves  this  question:  Can  the  American  negro, 
even  with  the  assistance  of  the  generous  bounty  and  intelligent 
supervision  of  the  United  States  Government,  rise  to  the 
height  of  his  opportunity  and  develop  the  capacity  success 
fully  to  establish  himself  as  a  nation,  and  to  extend  to  those 
of  his  race  in  other  lands,  less  favored  than  he,  the  blessings 
and  advantages  of  Christian  civilization?  His  friends  give 
him  credit  for  the  ability  to  accomplish  so  notable  a  result, 
but  there  are  doubters,  and  their  number  is  legion. 

The  one  thing  which  causes  the  writer  to  entertain  doubt 
as  to  the  ability  of  the  negro  race  to  achieve  for  itself  a  po 
sition  of  honor  among  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  is  the  apparent 
willingness  of  its  members  to  remain  in  this  land  of  social 
ostracism,  industrial  disadvantage,  and  political  disfran- 
chisement.  It  must  be  that  the  negro  lacks  the  gall  to  make 
oppression  bitter.  Were  he  of  more  heroic  mettle  he  would 
of  his  own  initiative  long  since  have  developed  plans  and 
leadership  for  some  great  movement  of  the  character  ad 
vocated  by  Lincoln.  The  race  would  have  produced  pro 
tagonists  in  emulation  of  the  great  William  the  Silent,  who, 
when  the  prospect  of  the  Batavian  Republic  fo'r  emancipa 
tion  from  Spanish  domination  appeared  hopeless,  counselled 
the  abandonment  of  the  land  which  with  infinite  toil  had 
been  transformed  from  desolate  marshes  into  fertile  mead 
ows,  and  planned  for  the  embarkation  of  his  people  upon  the 
stormy  seas,  in  order  that  after  braving  all  perils  and  en 
during  all  hardships,  they  might  establish  themselves  in  the 
East  India  Islands,  and  there  resume  their  career  of  freedom 
and  prosperity. 

Apart  from  the  material  advantages  certain  to  result  from 
the  adoption  of  Lincoln's  plan,  the  effect  upon  the  negro 
character,  if  it  be  susceptible  of  the  improvement  claimed 


480  The  Negro  Problem 

by  its  members  and  partisans,  could  not  be  other  than 
beneficial.  The  moral  effect  of  100,000  people  of  the 
Moral  neSro  race  resolutely  setting  forth  to  establish 

Advantages  themselves  in  Liberia  as  an  independent,  self- 
*  governing  community,  and  thus  embarking  upon 
a  career  of  unfettered  enterprise,  taking  with  them  in  addi 
tion  to  the  bounty  of  the  government  their  accumulations 
of  property,  establishing  their  churches  and  organizing 
their  schools  in  their  new  home,  would  be  worth  more  as 
an  example  to  the  race  than  a  score  of  Tuskegee  Institutes, 
supported  by  charitable  contributions  from  the  North, 
attempting  impossible  results  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile 
community. 

It  has  always  been  a  noticeable  fact  that  the  pioneers  of 
an  enterprise  of  such  great  magnitude  as  this  proposed 
emigration  rarely  fail  to  develop  the  most  robust  elements 
of  character,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  the  annals 
of  history  the  record  of  an  exodus  of  people  upon  anything 
like  the  dimensions  projected  where  the  result  has  not  been 
exceedingly  beneficial  to  the  members  participating  in  the 
enterprise. 

Such  a  solution  of  the  problem  would  certainly  constitute 
a  novel  element  in  the  great  panorama  of  the  evolution  of 
the  nations,  and  the  return  of  the  African  to  his  ancestral 
home  to  insure  his  commercial  advantage,  to  establish  his 
political  independence,  and  with  the  further  and  ennobling 
purpose  of  extending  Christianizing  influences  to  the  dark 
continent,  would  form  a  record  of  grandeur  scarcely  paralleled 
in  the  chronicles  of  ancient  or  modern  time.  The  history  of 
the  progress  of  the  world  is  in  the  history  of  the  migrations 
of  its  peoples,  ever  fluctuating,  ever  seeking  through  change 
of  location  to  ameliorate  their  material  and  spiritual  con 
ditions.  Colonization  is  the  natural  outcome  of  national 
expansion.  It  affects  the  purposes  of  whole  races  of  men, 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro     481 

and  has  determined  in  the  past  as  it  will  in  the  future  the 
character  of  nations  and  the  destiny  of  continents. 

In  speaking  generally  of  the  effect  upon  the  negro  race  of 
assisted  emigration  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  its  members 
to  better  their  circumstances,  the  principal  purpose  has  been 
to  establish  the  proposition  that  any  projected  transplanting 
which  would  take  large  numbers  of  its  members  out  of  the 
baneful  conditions  surrounding  them  in  this  country,  and 
effect  their  establishment  under  more  favorable  auspices 
elsewhere,  could  not  be  other  than  conducive  to  the  general 
advancement  of  those  engaged  in  the  enterprise.  But  in 
viewing  the  subject  in  its  larger  relations,  we  must  further 
consider  what  would  be  the  effect  of  such  an  emigration 
upon  the  peoples  now  inhabiting  the  territory  where  the 
negro  would  be  likely  to  seek  to  establish  himself  after 
emigration. 

It  would  be  a  hazardous  matter  even  to  attempt  a  pre 
diction  as  to  in  what  proportion  or  in  what  degree  different 
The  Rescue  available  tracts  of  territory  would  receive  the 
of  Hayti.  outpouring  of  negroes  from  this  country  certain 
to  follow  the  adoption  of  a  policy  of  assisted  emigra 
tion.  It  would  seem  that  the  Island  of  Hayti  would  be 
the  natural  refuge  of  many  of  the  race.  There  they  would 
find  climatic  conditions  of  the  most  favorable  character,  the 
assured  protection  of  this  country,  and  political  conditions 
under  which  the  genius  of  the  race  for  government  could 
readily  be  developed.  An  emigration  to  Hayti,  such  as  would 
be  likely  to  result  from  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  plan, 
should  in  a  few  decades  transform  that  disorderly  and  un 
developed  island  into  a  peaceful  and  productive  community. 

Imagine,  if  it  may  be  done,  the  result  of  one  or  two  million 
of  the  better  class  of  our  negro  population  taking  with  them 
in  the  next  decade  $300,000,000  to  $600,000,000  of  American 
money,  and  investing  it  in  lands  in  Hayti,  developing  its 


482  The  Negro  Problem 

mines,  building  its  railroads,  improving  its  highways,  em 
bellishing  its  cities,  and  establishing  a  government  at  once 
stable  and  progressive.  What  a  transformation  would  be 
effected  by  the  infusion  of  that  number  of  the  African 
race  accustomed  to  labor  and  possessing  some  foundation 
of  industrial  education,  and,  above  all,  inspired  by  the  hope 
of  acquiring  a  true  political  independence! 

Then,  at  once,  the  question  would  be  put  to  the  test,  never 
yet  fairly  applied,  whether  the  African  can  under  favorable 
circumstances  develop  and  maintain  an  adequate  civilization. 
For  it  is  at  all  times  to  be  assumed  in  this  discussion  in  re 
lation  to  any  migration  to  Hayti,  that  the  elements  to  be 
assisted  in  their  migration  there  or  elsewhere  are  to  be  of  the 
worthy  and  industrious  class  of  our  negro  population,  and 
that  no  possibility  of  friction  arising  out  of  their  meeting  and 
commingling  with  the  existing  Haytian  population  of  their 
own  race  is  to  be  considered.  The  island  will  be  in  the  future, 
as  it  is  at  the  present  time,  under  the  protection  and  control 
of  this  government. 

In  a  former  chapter,  in  discussing  the  subject  of  the  ne 
gro's  destination,  the  opinion  was  advanced  that  Africa,  the 
Develop-  fatherland  of  the  race,  the  great  undeveloped 
ment  of  continent,  presents  the  most  favoring  opportuni 
ties  for  its  establishment  in  a  line  of  progressive 
development.  Here  in  the  natural  home  of  the  negro  lie  the 
opportunities  of  the  race.  Africa  is  the  theatre  now  of  the 
greatest  work  of  reclamation  the  world  has  ever  witnessed. 
It  has  been  in  the  past  a  land  of  darkness  and  mystery,  and 
even  with  the  records  of  recent  discoveries  the  world  is 
scarcely  able  to  estimate  it  in  its  proper  relations  to  the 
other  continents  of  the  earth. 

Civilized  nations  of  the  world  are  only  to-day  waking 
up  to  the  infinite  possibilities  of  this  fruitful  quarter  of  the 
globe,  and  the  next  fifty  years,  excelling  all  past  progress, 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro        483 

will  mark  a  wonderful  development  of  its  abundant  re 
sources.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  large  and  widely 
distributed  areas  are  adapted  to  the  occupancy  and  culti 
vation  of  white  men.  The  soil  is  fertile,  in  a  great  part  of 
the  interior  the  climate  is  healthful,  resources  are  inexhaust 
ible,  and  all  that  is  needed  for  its  development  are  the  quali 
ties  of  enterprise  and  industry.  North,  south,  east,  and  west, 
the  enterprising  white  man  is  forcing  his  way  into  the  heart 
of  this  wonderful  continent,  subduing  its  difficulties  and 
obtaining  command  of  its  affluent  resources. 

The  Cape  to  Cairo  railway,  now  in  operation  for  some 
two  thousand  miles  north  of  Cape  Town,  will  in  the  present 
year  enter  the  Congo  Valley,  and  before  three  years  have 
elapsed  will  have  been  brought  to  completion  from  the 
Mediterranean  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Other  railway 
systems  are  being  projected,  developed,  and  extended,  and 
from  present  prospects  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  before 
many  decades  elapse  the  whole  of  the  African  continent 
will  have  been  parcelled  out  among  the  European  powers, 
and  its  wealth-producing  capacity  well  advanced  toward  its 
full  development. 

The  negro  alone  lags  behind.  All  races  except  his  are 
crowding  into  this  country  of  prosperous  promise.  Im 
mense  tracts  of  its  most  available  territory  are  now  open  to 
him  for  settlement.  In  that  rich  domain,  with  liberal  pre 
liminary  assistance,  great  numbers  of  the  black  race  could 
establish  themselves  with  the  assurance  of  a  stable  foundation 
for  a  career  of  prosperity. 

Liberia,  as  hereinbefore  set  forth  in  some  detail,  offers 
exceptional  advantages,  and  all  that  has  been  said  of 
this  readily  available  territory  is  applicable  in  even  a  greater 
degree  to  the  Congo  Free  State.  There  is  room  in  abun 
dance  within  its  borders  for  every  member  of  the  negro  race 
residing  to-day  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  no 


484  The  Negro  Problem 

more  favorable  field  can  be  found  for  the  exercise  of  the 
civilizing  influences  of  negroes  of  American  training  over 
the  less  advanced  members  of  their  race. 

Conceive,  if  such  a  conception  be  possible,  the  results  to 
the  Congo  Free  State  which  would  follow  the  advent  of  from 
five  to  ten  million  of  Africans,  after  the  decades  of  labor  and 
experience  in  this  country,  bringing  with  them  their  schools 
and  universities,  their  printing-presses,  churches,  language, 
and  other  institutions,  not  only  establishing  themselves  in 
independence  and  prosperity,  but  exercising  a  beneficent 
influence,  religiously  and  otherwise,  upon  the  natives  of  their 
own  race.  Here  there  could  be  no  friction  between  races. 
No  color  line  could  possibly  be  drawn.  Under  the  protec 
tion  of  the  United  States,  wherever  established,  the  negro 
would  be  free  in  the  coming  years  to  develop  his  capacity 
for  political  organization  and  to  assume  his  separate  and 
equal  station  as  one  of  the  nationalities  of  the  earth. 

Reading  in  detail  descriptions  of  this  African  continent, 
with  its  undeveloped  resources  and  its  peculiar  adaptability 
to  the  needs  of  the  negro  race,  and  pondering  over  the  diffi 
culties  and  disadvantages  of  the  emigration  project,  as  well 
as  the  benefits  accruing  from  its  adoption,  the  writer  has 
reached  the  profound  conviction  that  in  this  direction  alone 
lies  the  true  field  of  opportunity  for  the  American  negro, 
and  that  only  by  establishment  upon  African  soil  can  the 
race  truly  emancipate  itself  from  the  restraining  conditions 
which  in  the  past  have  so  impeded  its  progress. 

Can  the  negro  achieve  this  result?  Judged  by  his  past 
record  in  Africa,  the  prospect  would  be  discouraging,  but 
Possibilities  ^s  ^orty  vears  of  accomplishment  in  the  United 
for  the  States  give  us  hope.  In  the  present  age  of 
scientific  attainment,  and  with  the  liberal  assist 
ance  of  our  country,  prosperous  colonies  of  negroes  could 
be  readily  established  on  the  African  continent.  To  those 


The  Door  of  Hope  for  the  Negro        485 

who  may  be  disposed  to  entertain  doubts  as  to  this  assertion, 
the  writer  begs  to  commend  the  reading  of  the  account  by 
President  Booker  T.  Washington  of  Tuskegee  Institute 
of  the  history  of  the  negro  town  of  Mound  Bayou,  Bolivar 
County,  Mississippi,  published  in  the  World's  Work,  July, 
1907. 

Here  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  black  man  at  his  best, 
and  an  inspiring  example  of  what  in  various  sections  of  the 
country  he  has  been  able  to  accomplish.  In  the  heart  of  the 
Mississippi  Black  Belt,  where  the  very  densest  negro  popu 
lation  centres,  and  where  illiteracy  and  poverty  are  the  normal 
condition  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  is  to  be  found  a  locally 
self-governing  community  of  some  four  thousand  persons  of 
I  negro  blood.  This  community  is  the  distinctive  outcome 
of  negro  thrift  and  intelligent  negro  leadership.  The  town 
of  Mound  Bayou,  about  which  this  exceptional  society  is 
distributed,  is  an  incorporated  municipality,  with  a  mayor, 
three  aldermen,  town  marshal,  and  constables,  all  of  negro 
blood.  A  bank  with  $40,000  assets,  well  housed  in  a  brick 
building,  six  churches,  three  schools,  a  library,  and  a  telephone 
exchange,  give  some  idea  of  its  business  and  social  conditions. 
A  weekly  newspaper  is  published,  and  a  well  conducted 
loan  and  investment  company  testifies  to  the  thrift  of  the 
people.  The  town  has  an  electric  lighting  plant  in  operation, 
is  about  to  install  a  water  supply,  and,  in  addition  to  other 
enterprises,  maintains  three  well  established  cotton  gins. 
No  liquor  saloons  are  permitted  to  exist,  the  population  is 
orderly,  and  but  little  crime  demands  the  attention  of  the 
authorities.  The  general  reputation  of  the  town  for  moral 
standing  is  good. 

The  photographs  accompanying  the  article  give  the  im 
pression  of  a  village  of  neat  stores  and  houses,  carrying  an 
air  of  general  prosperity.  While  the  local  government  is 
administered  entirely  by  black  men,  and  meets  successfully 


486  The  Negro  Problem 

the  limited  requirements  of  the  inhabitants,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  in  the  larger  affairs  of  the  state  and  nation  the 
negroes  of  this  model  community  have  no  voice.  The  town 
and  its  surrounding  country  afford  an  excellent  illustration 
of  what  the  negro  can  accomplish  under  favorable  circum 
stances,  as  the  land  occupied  was  not  acquired  in  an  improved 
condition,  but  was  purchased  while  part  of  a  forbidding 
wilderness  only  twenty  years  ago,  and  redeemed  and  brought 
to  its  present  condition  of  fertility  by  the  hard,  but  not  com 
pulsory,  toil  of  these  aspiring  black  men. 

Can  we  then  say  that  the  negro  is  incapable  of  doing  in 
Liberia  what  he  has  done  in  this  Mississippi  town  and  in  a 
lesser  way  in  many  other  localities  in  the  South?  Given 
the  same  spirit  of  industry,  thrift,  and  sobriety,  with  the  added 
inducement  of  governmental  assistance,  and  the  assurance 
of  industrial  freedom  with  political  independence,  would  not 
the  assisted  emigration  which  was  the  dream  of  Lincoln  open 
to  the  negro  a  door  of  hope  by  which  he  would  be  enabled  to 
gain  entrance  to  fields  of  opportunity  from  which  he  is  now 
excluded  ? 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  REHABILITATION  OF  THE  SOUTH 

To  undeceive  the  people  of  the  South,  to  bring  them  to  a  know 
ledge  of  the  inferior  and  disreputable  position  which  they 
occupy  as  a  component  part  of  the  Union,  and  to  give  promi 
nence  and  popularity  to  those  plans,  which,  if  adopted,  will 
elevate  us  to  an  equality,  socially,  morally,  intellectually, 
industrially,  politically  and  financially,  with  the  most  flour 
ishing  and  refined  nation  in  the  world,  and,  if  possible,  to 
place  us  in  the  van  of  even  that,  is  the  object  of  this  work. — 
HELPER'S  Impending  Crisis,  p.  60. 

IN  1857,  one  Hinton  Rowan  Helper,  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  writing  from  a  Southern  viewpoint,  published 
a  work  on  the  slavery  question  under  the  title  of  The  Im 
pending  Crisis  of  the  South:  How  to  Meet  It.  Probably  no 
one  book,  with  the  exception  of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  had 
so  powerful  an  influence  in  moulding  the  anti-slavery  thought 
of  the  nation,  and  in  bringing  to  the  knowledge  of  the  people, 
North  and  South,  the  economic  fallacies  underlying  the 
slavery  system,  as  this  production  of  Helper's.  It  exercised 
beyond  question  a  most  potent  authority,  and  aroused  an 
intense  sectional  animosity.  Attempts  were  made  on  be 
half  of  the  slaveholding  states  to  answer  his  arguments, 
but  all  efforts  to  that  end  were  unavailing,  and  the  slave 
power  was  compelled  to  content  itself  with  the  banishment 
of  the  author  and  the  denunciation  of  his  book. 

The  general  scheme  of  Mr.  Helper's  work  consisted  in 
an  elaborate  comparison  of  the  condition  of  the  free  states 

487 


488  The  Negro  Problem 

with  that  of  the  slave  states,  based  upon  the  census  of 
1850,  followed  by  an  exhaustive  inquiry  as  to  the  causes 
Helper's  °^  ^e  §larmg  inequality  shown  in  the  progress 
"Impending  of  the  two  sections  during  the  period  which  had 
elapsed  since  the  formation  of  the  Constitution. 
The  author  endeavored  to  demonstrate  that  at  the  inception 
of  our  national  existence  the  Southern  States  possessed 
decided  advantages  in  extent  and  location  of  territory,  fer 
tility  of  soil,  salubrity  of  climate,  harbor  facilities,  character 
of  population,  and,  indeed,  in  all  the  elements  which  combine 
to  constitute  an  enlightened  and  progressive  commonwealth. 
He  traced  by  tables  of  statistics  the  gradual  retrogression  of 
the  South  in  the  race  for  pre-eminence  in  wealth  and  popula 
tion,  and  by  his  elaborate  and  indisputable  mathematics 
demonstrated  that  the  section  once  in  possession  of  leader 
ship  was  at  the  date  of  his  work  hopelessly  distanced  in  the 
competition. 

He  instituted  separate  comparisons  between  Massachusetts 
and  North  Carolina;  New  York  and  Virginia;  Pennsyl 
vania  and  South  Carolina;  greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
Southern  States.  He  presented  convincing  tables  to  es 
tablish  the  growing  primacy  of  the  North  and  the  non- 
progressive  character  of  the  people  of  the  South. 

Space  will  not  permit  the  reproduction  of  his  convincing 
statistics  in  this  work.  The  liberty,  however,  has  been  taken 
to  present  a  few  of  the  more  important  tables,  and  there  have 
been  added  to  his  figures  the  most  recent  statistics  on  the 
subject,  taken  from  the  compilation  of  the  Department  of 
Commerce  and  Labor,  Bureau  of  the  Census,  made  in  1904. 
The  purpose  of  these  tables  is  to  set  forth  the  fact  that  the 
disparity  between  the  progress  of  the  sections,  noted  by  Mr. 
Helper  over  fifty  years  ago,  has  continued  and  is  even  more 
marked  at  the  present  time  than  when  he  made  his  on 
slaught  on  the  slaveholding  element  of  the  South. 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South      489 

The  first  table  presents  the  comparison  between  Massa 
chusetts  and  North  Carolina  as  to  population  and  wealth  at 
the  respective  periods  mentioned: 

TABLE  I 

MASSACHUSETTS  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Population 

1790 378,787          i79° 393.751 

1850 994,514          1850 869,039 

1904 2,964,013          1904 2,004,154 

Value  of  Real  and  Personal  Estate 

1850 $   573,342,286          1850 $  226,800,472 

1904 4,956,578,913          1904 842,072,218 

The  second  table  presents  the  same  comparison  between 
New  York  and  Virginia : 

TABLE  II 

NEW  YORK  VIRGINIA 

Population 

1790 340,120          1790 748,308 

1850 3,097,394          1850 1,421,661 

1904 7,907,625          1904 '2,970,668 

Value  of  Real  and  Personal  Estate 

1850 $1,080,309,216          1850 $     391,646,438 

1904 14,769,142,207          1904 12, 127, 970, 3  29 

The  third  table  presents  the  same  comparison  between 
Pennsylvania  and  South  Carolina: 

TABLE  III 

PENNSYLVANIA  SOUTH  CAROLINA 

Population 

179° 434,373          J790 393.751 

1850 2,311,786          1850 668,507 

1904 6,719,715          1904 1,415,984 

1  Includes  West  Virginia. 


490 


The  Negro  Problem 


Value  of  Real  and  Personal  Estate 


1850 $     729,144,998 

1904 11,473,620,306 


1850 $  288,257,694 

i9°4 585,853,222 


In  each  case  the  foregoing  figures  eloquently  establish 
the  proposition  of  Mr.  Helper  that  the  advance  in  numbers 
and  wealth  has  been  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  the  Northern 
community.  The  comparison  might  be  similarly  continued 
between  other  states  with  the  same  unvarying  result. 

He  follows  with  a  table  contrasting  valuations  of  real 
and  personal  property  in  the  free  and  slave  states,  as  taken 
from  the  census  of  1850,  to  which  is  appended  for  purposes  of 
comparison  the  figures  for  the  same  states  for  1904: 

TABLE  IV 
Value  of  Real  and  Personal  Property 


FREE  STATES 


SLAVE  STATEf 


1850 


California  

$     22,161  872 

Alabama  

.   $     228,204,332 

Connecticut.  .  . 

i  c  e  707  080 

Arkansas  

3Q  841,02  ^ 

Illinois     

i  56  265  006 

Delaware  

18  8"^  863 

Indiana 

202  650  264 

Florida 

23   108  734 

Iowa 

23714  6^8 

Georgia 

3  3  c  42  ^  714. 

Maine  

122,777  ^7  i 

Kentucky  

301,628,456 

Massachusetts. 
Michigan   .    .  . 

573,342,286 

<Q   787   2  =X 

Louisiana  
Maryland.  .  .    . 

233,  998,7<H 
2IQ  2  17,364 

New  Hamp 
shire 

IO3   6^2   83  ^ 

Mississippi 

2280^1    I3O 

New  Jersey.  .  . 

1^3,1^1  610 

Missouri  

137,247,707 

New  York.... 
Ohio  

1,080,309,216 

504  726   I  20 

North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina. 

226,800,472 
288  2  ^7,604 

Pennsylvania  . 
Rhode  Island.. 
Vermont 

729,144,998 

80,508,794 

O2   2O  ^  OdO 

Tennessee  
Texas  
1  Virginia      .  .  . 

207,454,704 
55,362,340 
3QI   646  438 

Wisconsin.  .  .  . 

42,056,595 

$4,102,162,098 
Includes  West  Virginia. 


$2,936,090,737 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South       491 


FREE  STATES 


SLAVE  STATES 


1904 


California $  4,115,491,106 

Connecticut...  1,414,635,063 

Illinois 8,816,556,191 

Indiana 3,105,781,739 

Iowa 4,048,516,076 

Maine 775,622,722 

Massachusetts.  4,956,578,913 

Michigan 3,282,419,117 

New  Hamp- 


Alabama. . . . 
Arkansas.  .  . 
Delaware.  .  . 
Florida.. 


$  965,014,261 
803,907,972 
230,260,976 
431,409,200 

Georgia 1,167,445,671 

Kentucky 1,527,486,230 

Louisiana 1,032,229,006 

Maryland 1,511,488,179 


shire  

516  809  204 

Mississippi  

688  249  022 

New  Jersey 

3    2  ^  s   6lQ  07  T. 

Missouri     

37  Co  Co7  4  c.  i 

New  York.... 
Ohio 

14,769,042,207 
504.6  060  4.66 

North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina 

842,072,218 

rgc  8^.3   222 

Pennsylvania  . 
Rhode  Island  . 
Vermont 

11,473,620,306 
799,349,601 

3  60    T.T.O   080 

Tennessee  
Texas  
i  Virginia  

1,104,223,979 

2,836,322,003 

2    127   77O   3  2  Q 

Wisconsin.  .  .  . 

2,838,678,239 

$70,456,020,012 


$19,613,329,719 


Mr.  Helper's  classification  of  states  has  been  followed, 
but  for  the  purposes  of  this  table  Missouri,  with  its  present 
population  of  2,944,843  whites  against  161,234  blacks, 
should  properly  be  included  with  the  Northern  States,  making 
the  figures  for  1904, — $74,215,597,453  for  the  white  states, 
against  $15,853,932,268  for  the  negro  states. 

After  noting  (page  81)  the  significant  fact  that  a  part  of 
the  $2,936,090,737  credited  as  the  wealth  of  the  slave  states 
in  1850  is  based  upon  a  valuation  of  human  beings,  he 
comments  as  follows: 

What  a  towering  monument  to  the  beauty  and  glory 
of  free  labor!  What  irrefragable  evidence  of  the  un 
equalled  efficacy  and  grandeur  of  free  institutions!  These 
figures  are  indeed  too  full  of  meaning  to  be  passed  by 
without  comment.  The  two  tables  from  which  they  are 


Includes  West  Virginia. 


49 2  The  Negro  Problem 

borrowed  are  at  least  a  volume  within  themselves;  and 
after  all  the  pains  we  have  taken  to  compile  them  we 
shall  perhaps  feel  somewhat  disappointed  if  the  reader 
fails  to  avail  himself  of  the  important  information  they 
impart. 

Considering  the  serious  import  of  these  words,  what  would 
the  writer  have  said  if  he  could  then  and  there  have  foreseen 
that  after  fifty  years  of  further  development,  and  after  over 
forty  years  had  elapsed  since  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the 
proportion  which  was  then  some  four  to  three  in  favor  of 
the  free  states  would  have  mounted  to  about  seven  to  two 
in  the  states  embraced  in  the  table  and  over  five  to  one  in 
the  nation? 

Having  with  painstaking  accuracy  established  his  facts, 
Mr.  Helper  proceeds  in  the  following  words  to  deduce  what 
to  his  mind  was  the  obvious  conclusion: 

And  now  to  the  point.  In  our  opinion,  an  opinion  which 
has  been  formed  from  data  obtained  by  assiduous  re 
searches  and  comparisons,  from  laborious  investigation, 
logical  reasoning  and  earnest  reflection,  the  causes  which 
have  impeded  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  South,, 
which  have  dwindled  our  commerce  and  other  similar 
pursuits  into  the  most  contemptible  insignificance  .  .  .  may 
all  be  traced  to  one  common  source  and  there  find  solution 
in  the  most  hateful  and  horrible  word  that  was  ever 
incorporated  into  the  vocabulary  of  human  economy — • 
SLAVERY. 

Yet,  after  all,  with  all  his  study  and  research,  with  all  his 
acumen,  with  all  his  patient  investigation  of  facts  and  high 
Mr.  Helper's  moral  purpose,  Mr.  Helper  went  astray  in  his 
Error.  conclusion.  Everywhere  in  his  work  he  prophe 

sied  that  with  the  abolition  of  slavery,  prosperity  would  come 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South      493 

to  the  South  in  the  same  abundant  measure  as  to  the  North, 
and  that  "  socially,  morally,  intellectually,  industrially,  politi 
cally  and  financially"  the  South  would  soon  equal,  if  not 
exceed,  the  record  of  the  prosperous  North. 

He  died  recently  in  honored  retirement  in  our  capital  city, 
but  he  was  never  permitted  to  witness  the  beginning  of 
this  predicted  equality.  Clear-sighted  as  he  was  for  his 
time,  and  accurate  as  was  his  understanding  of  the  main 
factors  of  the  negro  problem,  he  mistook  an  incidental  feature 
for  the  primary  cause  of  the  retardation  of  the  progress  of 
the  South.  It  was  not,  and  is  not,  the  effect  of  slavery  that 
has  been  the  origin  of  the  manifold  shortcomings  and  eco 
nomic  deficiencies  of  that  section  of  the  country.  The 
negro,  slave  or  free,  by  his  own  incapacities  and  limitations 
and  in  his  reflex  influence  upon  the  white  race,  has  been, 
and  is  now,  the  sole  producing  cause  of  the  evils  so  deplorably 
affecting  that  section. 

Before  considering,  therefore,  how  the  application  of 
Lincoln's  solution  of  the  problem  will  operate  to  relieve  the 

South   from   her   present   burden   of   ignorance, 
ASignifi-     .  .  B 

cant  mcompetency,  and   crime,   to   imbue   with   new 

Contrast.  jjfe  j^  stagnant  politics,  build  up  her  waste 
places,  and  enable  her  to  resume  her  rightful  place  of  honor 
among  the  sections  of  our  country,  let  us  digress  for  a  mo 
ment  to  ponder  over  the  deeper  meaning  of  a  few  figures 
extracted  from  the  census  reports  above  referred  to,  and  from 
other  reliable  sources. 

The  following  table  is  presented,  contrasting  in  some  very 
important  aspects  six  of  the  principal  Southern  States,  fairly 
representative  in  character  of  the  states  of  that  section,  and 
six  equally  representative  Northern  States,  selected  for  the 
purpose  of  a  fair  comparison,  it  being  believed  that  the  states 
named  represent  a  fair  average  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
Northern  section  of  the  country. 


494 


The  Negro  Problem 


TABLE  V 

COMPARATIVE  TABLE  SHOWING  DIFFERENCE  EXISTING  IN  CERTAIN 
IMPORTANT  MATTERS  BETWEEN  SIX  SOUTHERN  STATES  AND 
AN  EQUAL  NUMBER  OF  STATES  OF  THE  NORTH  SELECTED 
AS  FAIRLY  REPRESENTATIVE  STATES  OF  THE  TWO  SECTIONS. 


State. 

;nt.  of  Negroes. 

alue  of  Real 
Property 
per  Acre, 
1904. 

|| 

Q  c3  o3  oj  cj 

LI 

pj        £ 

Lynchings, 
1908 

ners  Committed 
Homicide  dur- 
1904,  per  ipo,- 
of  Population. 

8 

> 

^ 

< 

PH 

w  O  c   O 

S 

ft 

OH 

SOUTHERN    STATES 


Mississippi.  .  .  . 
So.  Carolina.  .  . 

58.5 
58.4 

$9.42 
12.95 

$168.79 
I78.5I 

$2.12 

2  .  90 

33-8 

22 

I 

8.3 

4-4 

Louisiana     .  . 

47     I 

16  84. 

•?  2  Q  .  08 

6.51 

97.6 

8 

IO     1 

Georgia  . 

T-  /  •  x 

46  .  7 

i  VJ  .  *~>t 

14.  98 

277  .  83 

4   °4 

71.6 

16 

•*•  w  •  o 
6.2 

Alabama  

trvy  *  / 

45-2 

13.61 

•"•J  /  '      O 

228.54 

4.38 

O 

33-7 

4 

6.1 

Virginia  

35-6 

26.18 

348.88 

6.56 

25-3 

i 

3-2 

NORTHERN   STATES. 

Connecticut  .  .  . 

i-7 

$275.66 

$873.68 

$22.19 

6.8 

0 

i  -3 

Pennsylvania.  . 

2-5 

229.71 

980.85 

17.84 

7-7 

0 

1.9 

Ohio  

2  •  3 

120.78 

m.  60 

14  .  34 

4.8 

o 

I  •  Q 

Iowa 

0.6 

j.  *•  \-/.  y  *_• 
7O.O3 

8   4? 

2     7 

o 

A          V 

O    0 

Minnesota  

38.31 

1024.99 

to 
ii  .62 

/ 

4.1 

o 

w  .  y 

0.7 

California  

0.7 

26.67 

1671.86 

20  .66 

6.2 

I 

4-7 

The  purpose  subserved -by  the  presentation  of  the  fore 
going  table  is  vividly  to  place  before  the  reader  the  facts 
establishing  the  intimate  connection  everywhere  manifested 
between  the  existence  of  a  large  proportionate  negro  popu 
lation  and  a  retarded  and  non-progressive  condition  of  de 
velopment  in  the  same  section.  It  will  be  noted  from  the 
table  that  wherever  the  negro  is  numerous,  land  values  are 
low,  the  wealth  of  the  community  is  limited,  illiteracy  and 
crime  exist;  and  that  correspondingly,  in  the  absence  of  the 
negro,  values  are  high,  prosperity  reigns,  education  is  prac 
tically  universal,  and  crime  shows  a  diminishing  ratio.  ' 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South      495 

This  is  no  mere  accident;  it  is  not  a  casual  coincidence  that 
the  presence  of  the  negro  denotes  ignorance,  poverty,  and 
crime;  that  where  he  is  most  numerous  conditions  of  life  are 
most  unfavorable,  and  that  where  paucity  of  numbers 
renders  him  of  negligible  character,  thrift,  prosperity,  and 
better  moral  conditions  are  found  to  exist.  The  two  things 
are  inseparably  connected.  Wherever  the  negro  is,  there 
are  to  be  found  backwardness  and  lack  of  progress;  where 
the  negro  is  not,  there  in  education,  industry,  and  social 
development  the  advance  is  most  rapid. 

Now,  it  is  not  intended  in  the  presentation  of  this  table, 
or  in  the  accompanying  remarks,  to  reflect  upon  the  char 
acter  of  the  people  of  the  Southern  section  of  this  country, 
nor  is  the  inference  to  be  drawn  that  the  negro  is  incapable 
of  elevating  himself  to  a  higher  plane  of  civilization.  The 
special  purpose  is  to  call  attention  to  the  patent  fact  that  in 
all  essential  developmental  respects  the  Southern  section 
of  the  country  lags  far  behind  the  other  portions,  and  to 
demonstrate  that  this  condition  of  affairs  is  the  ever-re 
sulting  concomitant  of  the  presence  of  large  numbers  of  the 
negro  race.  In  the  South  itself,  in  sections  where  the  negro 
forms  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  population,  improvement 
is  more  rapid;  but  where,  as  in  what  is  known  as  the  Black 
Belt,  the  numbers  are  greater  than  those  of  the  white  race, 
progress  is  exceedingly  slow,  if,  in  fact,  substantial  retro 
gression  is  not  the  real  state  of  affairs. 

If  further  figures  were  necessary  to  establish  this  incon 
trovertible  fact,  an  examination  of  the  expansion  of  the 
Further  railway  system  of  the  country,  as  shown  in  Bulle- 
Contrasts  tin  No.  2i  of  the  United  States  Census  Reports, 
Norland  which  gives  the  commercial  and  taxed  value  of 
South.  railroads  throughout  the  country,  would  satisfy 
the  most  sceptical  reader.  A  careful  study  of  this  bulletin 
establishes  the  great  disparity  between  the  railway  systems 


496  The  Negro  Problem 

of  the  North  and  South.  Space  will  not  allow  a  detailed 
discussion  of  the  matter,  but  a  summary  statement  discloses 
the  fact  that  the  commercial  value  of  the  railroads  of  the 
North  in  1900  was  placed  at  $9,362,000,000  and  of  the  South 
at  $1,882,000,000.  The  business  transacted  by  these  roads 
shows  an  even  greater  disproportion  in  favor  of  the  Northern 
section.  The  contrast  is  all  the  more  impressive  when  we 
remember  that  the  Southern  lines  are  mainly  based  upon  the 
investment  of  Northern  capital  and  largely  supported  by 
Northern  travel. 

Consider  in  addition  to  the  foregoing  the  amount  of 
money  spent  for  education  in  the  respective  sections,  and 
again  we  find  the  census  tables  manifesting  in  this  respect 
an  astounding  advantage  in  favor  of  the  Northern  com 
munities.  One  illustration  will  suffice. 

The  following  table  presents  the  actual  expenditures  of 
moneys  devoted  to  public  education  in  1903  in  fourteen  of 
the  largest  cities  of  the  country. 

TABLE  VI 

New  York $28,091,477 

Chicago 8,471,771 

Philadelphia 5,265,019 

St.  Louis 2,859,163 

Boston 5,002,024 

Baltimore 1,848,778 

Cleveland 2,335,201 

Buffalo 1,651,403 

San  Francisco i,333,398 

Pittsburg 1,737,156 

Cincinnati 1,151,293 

Milwaukee 1,079,738 

Detroit 1,098,632 

New  Orleans 539, 636 

It  will  be  observed  from  the  foregoing  table  that  the  only 
distinctively  Southern  city  mentioned  is  the  one  at  the  bottom 
of  the  list,  expending  a  proportionately  insignificant  amount 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South      497 

of  money  for  the  annual  support  of  its  public  educational 
institutions. 

One  has  but  to  travel  in  the  different  sections  of  the  coun 
try,  and  to  observe  the  characteristics  of  cities  and  towns, 
and  even  more  strikingly  the  rural  communities,  to 
appreciate  the  tremendous  advantages  possessed  by  the 
North  in  the  way  of  character  of  population  and  material 
prosperity. 

The  contrast  between  one  of  the  smaller  cities  in  New 
England,  or  indeed  in  one  of  the  Northwestern  States,  and 
one  of  similar  population  in  a  typical  Southern  community, 
is  most  impressive  to  the  observer.  In  the  former  section 
we  see  broad,  carefully  kept  streets,  bordered  with  houses 
at  once  substantial  in  structure  and  attractive  in  appearance, 
shaded  with  rows  of  handsome  elm  or  maple  trees.  The 
business  structures  are  substantially  built  of  brick  or  stone; 
a  handsome  public  library  embellishes  the  city  and  gives 
evidence  of  the  cultured  taste  of  the  inhabitants;  public 
buildings  of  imposing  character  lend  dignity  to  the  trans 
action  of  public  business;  and  stores,  factories,  and  dwell 
ing  houses  present  a  general  air  of  thrift,  prosperity,  and 
contentment. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  typical  Southern  town  or  small 
city  is  unpainted  and  ill-kept,  rambling  and  lacking  in  dis 
tinction,  architecturally  deficient,  presenting  few  signs  of 
thrift,  and  is  marred  by  its  squalid  negro  quarters.  Its 
streets  are  usually  thronged  with  idle  and  shiftless  negroes, 
and  we  find  the  tout  ensemble  presenting  none  of  those  pleas 
ing  aspects  so  markedly  characteristic  of  the  Northern 
community.  All  this,  and  far  more  than  the  pen  of  the 
writer  is  competent  to  describe,  distinguishes  the  section 
where  the  negro  population  is  numerous,  and  where  it  exer 
cises  its  pernicious  influence  over  the  condition  of  the  com 
munity,  from  those  more  favored  parts  of  our  country  where 
33 


498  The  Negro  Problem 

a  lesser  proportion  of  the  race  renders  it  an  inconsiderable 
factor. 

No  one  can  be  unmindful  of  the  astonishing  progress  which 
the  South  has  made  during  the  years  which  have  elapsed 
since  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  Considered  with  relation 
to  her  unfortunate  condition  at  the  termination  of  that 
exhausting  struggle,  her  recuperation  has  been  nothing 
less  than  miraculous,  and  challenges  comparison  with  the 
progress  made  by  the  North.  When,  after  four  years  of 
arduous  achievement  and  untold  sacrifice,  the  defeated 
veterans  of  Lee  and  Johnston  sought  their  desolated  homes, 
the  plantations  of  the  South  were  in  a  condition  of  exhaustion, 
her  industries  ruined,  her  credit  destroyed,  and  her  govern 
mental  system  prostrated.  A  large  proportion  of  her  ablest 
and  most  vigorous  men  had  laid  down  their  lives  in  support 
of  her  principle  of  national  disintegration,  and  the  outlook 
for  her  future,  handicapped  as  she  was  by  the  presence  of 
an  ignorant,  homeless,  and  landless  negro  element,  was  indeed 
disheartening. 

The  progress  she  has  made  since  that  hour  of  despair  is, 
indeed,  the  marvel  of  the  world.  Her  wealth  has  increased 
from  four  billion  to  nineteen  billion  dollars;  her  railroads 
have  quadrupled  their  mileage;  her  banks  have  established 
enduring  credit;  her  cotton  crop  has  more  than  tripled;  and 
her  manufacturing  interests  have  increased  more  than  ten 
fold.  Her  future  prospects  are  of  the  brightest  character, 
except  for  the  one  dark  cloud  continually  menacing  the 
stability  of  her  hardly  acquired  prosperity. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  consider  the  beneficial  changes  which 
would  inevitably  accrue  to  the  South  by  the  elimination  of 

_.  ..  the  negro  as  a  factor  in  her  social  and  industrial 
Benefits  to 

Accrue  to     life.     The  enumeration  of  those  benefits  cannot 

be  made  with  any  approach  to  accurate  statement. 

The  blessings  following  from  the  adoption  of  the  proposed 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South        499 

plan  of  Lincoln  would  be  so  manifold,  and  would  so  commin 
gle  one  with  another,  and  the  beneficent  effects  accomplished 
would  be  intertwined  in  so  many  ways  not  at  present  to  be 
foreseen,  that  all  that  can  be  stated  is,  that  the  execution 
of  the  plan  would  to  a  certainty  effect  the  rehabilitation  of 
the  South  and  her  restoration  to  her  former  position  of 
equality  of  leadership  in  the  realms  of  thought,  science,  and 
industrial  and  political  consideration. 

Briefly,  however,  we  will  review  a  few  of  the  benefits  which 
would  unquestionably  follow  the  adoption  and  execution 
of  the  plan  proposed  by  Abraham  Lincoln  for  the  solution 
of  the  negro  problem  by  the  colonization  of  the  people  of  that 
race  outside  the  borders  of  our  country. 

(l)  IT  WOULD  DELIVER  THE  SOUTH  FROM  THE  BUR 
DEN  CAUSED  BY  THE  PRESENCE  OF  A  RACE  WHICH  MUST 
BE  CLASSED  AS  INFERIOR  AND  NON-PROGRESSIVE  IN  ITS 
PRESENT  CHARACTER. 

In  the  statement  of  the  elements  of  the  problem,  the 
position  assumed  by  the  writer  was  that  of  declining  to  enter 
into  a  discussion  as  to  the  inherent  qualifications  of  the 
negro  race  to  achieve  an  independent  success,  and  to  enter 
into  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  civilized  life.  For 
the  purposes  of  this  discussion,  the  heretofore  stated  opinion 
that  under  favorable  circumstances  the  negro  race  will  in 
time  develop  a  capacity  for  self-government  and  be  enabled 
to  achieve  for  itself  a  national  existence,  is  reiterated.  But 
under  present  circumstances,  as  they  exist  in  the  South 
to-day,  nothing  valuable  in  the  way  of  progressive  develop 
ment  will  ever  be  accomplished.  And,  as  frequently  em 
phasized,  the  elevation  of  the  negro  in  education  and  material 
welfare  would  only  render  the  condition  of  the  problem  the 
more  difficult  and  dangerous,  extending  its  character  from 
a  local  to  a  national  irritation. 

Handicapped  as  the  negro  is  by  present  adverse  conditions, 


500  The  Negro  Problem 

he  cannot  be  expected  to  remedy  his  deficiencies  and  become 
a  permanent  benefit  to  the  community.  The  Southern 
white  man  does  not  expect  it,  and,  indeed,  does  not  want 
the  negro  radically  to  change  from  his  former  character. 
In  the  words  of  Ray  Stannard  Baker,  who  has  recently 
been  making  a  careful  and  detailed  study  of  the  facts  of  the 
problem  upon  the  ground,  "The  Southern  white  man  wants 
the  new  South  but  the  old  darky." 

The  removal  of  the  race  would  remove  the  ignoble  fear 
of  negro  domination,  which  under  various  forms  is  yet  the 
nightmare  of  the  Southern  citizen.  Nothing  is  so  deterrent 
of  progress,  so  inimical  to  the  development  of  the  finer  traits 
of  human  character,  as  an  unworthy  apprehension,  and  for 
the  past  four  decades,  yes,  even  before  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  the  Southern  white  man  has  lived  in  constant  dread 
of  the  possibility  first  of  a  slave  uprising,  and  in  later  years 
of  a  bitter  racial  conflict.  The  fearsome  shadow  of  the 
black  man  has  been  cast  over  every  acre  of  his  fair 
land,  and  has  made  it  impossible  for  him  either  to  under 
stand  or  to  appreciate  the  thoughts  and  purposes  of  his 
dark-skinned  neighbor.  All  this  would  pass  away  grad 
ually  with  the  adoption  of  the  enlightened  plan  now 
proposed. 

The  attitude  of  self-defence  forced  upon  the  white  man, 
impelling  him  to  indefensible  political  methods,  the  main 
tenance  of  harsh  social  usages,  and  the  resort  to  daily  in 
justice  in  the  administration  of  the  law,  for  the  conservation 
of  the  strictest  racial  purity,  would  disappear,  and  with  that 
disappearance  would  come  a  freedom  of  thought  and  breadth 
of  political  view  which,  under  the  present  circumstances, 
are  impossible  of  acquirement. 

In  an  enlightening  essay  upon  the  need  of  a  Southern 
programme  on  the  negro  problem,  in  the  South  Atlantic 
Quarterly  for  April,  1907,  the  Rev.  John  E.  White,  pastor  of 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South        501 

the  Second  Baptist  Church  of  Atlanta,   Georgia,  has  this 
to  say  upon  this  phase  of  the  question: 

We  have  always  declared  that  we  were  the  superior 
race,  so  much  superior  and  so  much  stronger  numerically 
and  individually  that  any  comparison  was  odious.  It  was 
the  truth  and  it  has  always  been  the  truth.  But  if  an 
impartial  investigating  sociologist  should  visit  the  South 
and  go  fairly  through  everything  that  has  happened  from 
the  hustings  to  the  capitals,  from  the  Magistrates'  Courts 
to  the  Supreme  Courts,  would  he  not  find  the  suggestion 
that,  though  eminently  superior  in  all  respects  to  the  ne 
groes,  we  did  not  always  seem  to  feel  quite  sure  of  it? 

The  question  which  every  Southern  white  man  should 
put  to  himself- is  this:  "How  shall  we  relieve  ourselves  of 
this  burden  caused  by  the  existence  of  a  problem  unsatis 
factory  in  the  past,  unsatisfactory  in  the  present,  and  daily 
threatening  to  be  even  more  unsatisfactory  in  the  future?" 
To  this  question  but  one  answer  may  be  given:  The  Southern 
white  man  can  emancipate  himself  only  by  emancipating 
his  black  brother,  and  this  emancipation  can  be  effected 
in  no  other  way  than  by  the  absolute  separation  of  the  two 
peoples. 

(2)  IT  WOULD  AT  ONCE  ESTABLISH  THE  DIGNITY  OF  LABOR 
AND  REMOVE  FOREVER  THE  STIGMA  WHICH  HAS  ALWAYS 
RESTED  UPON  THE  MAN  ENGAGED  IN  MANUAL  OCCUPATIONS 
IN  THE  SOUTH. 

Social  and  industrial  conditions  in  the  old  South  rendered 
it  impossible  for  a  person  of  white  blood  to  engage  in  an 
occupation  of  an  industrial  character,  demanding  bodily 
labor  of  an  arduous  nature,  without  losing  caste.  The  whole 
social  edifice  was  based  upon  the  corner-stone  of  slavery. 
The  negro  was  the  mud-sill  upon  which  the  social  edifice 
rested,  and  slavery  was  held  to  be  his  natural  condition. 


502  The  Negro  Problem 

And  yet  of  the  eleven  million  of  population  of  the  section, 
by  the  census  of  1860  but  347,000  were  slaveholders.  Prob 
ably  less  than  two  million  people  constituted  in  all  its  rami 
fications  the  slaveholding  aristocracy  of  the  section.  Of  the 
residue  of  the  population,  some  four  and  one  half  millions 
were  slaves,  the  other  four  and  one  half  millions  the  con 
stituent  known  as  "poor  whites,'1  composed  of  persons  out 
side  of  the  social  pale,  a  shiftless,  unprogressive  element, 
despised  by  the  privileged  class  of  slaveholders,  and  regarded 
with  contempt  even  by  the  negroes  themselves. 

The  abolition  of  slavery,  the  introduction  of  improved 
industrial  methods,  the  gradual  expansion  of  manufacturing 
and  commerce,  with  the  increasing  education  of  the  section, 
have  not  altogether  dispelled  this  feeling  that  the  personal 
participation  in  agriculture  or  manufacturing,  based  upon 
actual  manual  labor,  is  to  a  certain  extent  dishonorable. 
And  so  long  as  an  uncertain,  unreliable,  submissive  negro 
population  can  be  relied  upon  to  carry  on  in  indifferent 
fashion  the  ordinary  work  of  the  community,  the  true  dignity 
of  self-respecting  labor  will  never  be  fully  realized.  The 
wholesome  discipline  of  toil  is  an  element  of  first  importance 
in  the  formation  of  character,  and  the  South  has  much  to 
learn  in  the  adaptation  of  its  spirit  to  the  new  conditions 
of  labor. 

Experience  has  long  since  exploded  the  theory  that  there 
is  anything  in  the  climate  of  the  South  which  is  deleterious 
to  the  worker,  or  which  prevents  the  white  man  from  profit 
ably  cultivating  her  fertile  fields  by  his  own  labor.  Whatever 
other  shortcomings  her  territory  may  have  manifested,  she 
has  never  failed  in  her  ability  to  produce  men  of  stalwart 
physique,  vigorous,  enduring  specimens  of  manhood.  Cer 
tainly  no  detractor  can  assert  that  the  quality  of  the  army 
which  held  the  field  in  defence  of  her  asserted  independence 
against  desperate  odds  from  1861  to  1865  was  lacking  in 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South         503 

strength  of  body  or  tenacity  of  spirit.  No  more  enduring 
and  capable  body  of  soldiery  ever  came  gallantly  forward  to 
preserve  the  liberties  of  a  nation.  The  hardy  veterans  who 
followed  Stonewall  Jackson  down  the  valley  of  Virginia, 
and  the  men  from  Texas,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi  who 
poured  out  their  heroic  blood  before  the  breastworks  at 
Franklin,  were  models  of  physical  development,  possessing 
superb  ability  to  do  and  to  endure. 

The  later  experience  of  immigrants  in  the  lower  South 
has  demonstrated  beyond  all  question  that  throughout  that 
richly  endowed  section  there  is  no  difficulty  or  danger  to 
be  apprehended  from  climatic  conditions  with  reference  to 
her  industrial  progress.  An  abundance  of  testimony  could 
be  adduced  upon  this  point.  In  his  Studies  in  the  American 
Race  Problem,  at  page  192,  Mr.  Alfred  Holt  Stone  points 
out  three  points  of  distinct  superiority  of  the  white  immigrant 
over  the  negro.  More  might  readily  be  added.  So  that 
the  removal  of  the  negro  would  operate  to  dignify  labor,  and 
thus  to  enhance  the  material  prosperity  of  the  people.  Nor 
is  it  to  be  apprehended  that  life  without  the  services  of  the 
African  population,  with  the  resulting  necessity  for  the  per 
formance  of  industrial  effort,  would  necessitate  the  white 
population  engaging  too  generally  in  manual  labor,  and 
thus  retarding  the  progress  of  the  section.  Under  the  suc 
ceeding  head  the  question  will  be  discussed,  and  it  is  believed 
it  may  be  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  effect  of  the  proposed 
plan  in  this  regard  cannot  but  be  helpful  to  all  sections  of  the 
Union. 

(3)  THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE  NEGRO  WOULD  OPEN  THE  DOOR 
FOR  THE  RECEPTION  OF  THE  GREAT  TIDE  OF  IMMIGRANTS 
CERTAIN  TO  SEEK  THE  RICH  FIELDS  OF  OPPORTUNITY  AWAIT 
ING  THEIR  OCCUPANCY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

The  South  has  suffered,  and  still  suffers,  from  lack  of 
participation  in  the  benefits  of  the  great  immigration  which 


504  The  Negro  Problem 

has  so  potently  assisted  in  building  up  the  wealth  and  popu 
lation  of  the  Northern  section  of  the  country.  With  the  fair 
est  and  most  fertile  lands  in  the  United  States,  with  every 
natural  advantage  of  river  and  harbor,  with  an  unsurpassed 
climate,  and  with  every  physical  element  requisite  for  the 
highest  material  prosperity,  the  South  has  for  generations 
been  retarded  in  the  race  for  industrial  supremacy,  and  has 
fallen  so  far  behind  the  Northern  section  of  the  country 
that  its  condition  is  now,  as  it  has  been  in  the  past,  one  of 
comparative  unproductiveness. 

This  deplorable  lack  of  development  must  be  ascribed 
solely  to  the  presence  of  the  negro,  who,  both  in  slavery  and 
in  freedom,  by  his  inefficient  labor  has  degraded  all  labor, 
and  has  made  the  white  man  who  undertakes  to  perform 
manual  toil  of  any  description  more  or  less  an  object  of 
contempt  and  derision.  Slave  labor  debased  free  labor; 
black  labor  debases  white  labor. 

The  ever-expanding  tide  of  immigration  from  foreign 
lands  entering  into  our  Northern  ports  either  remains  in  the 
.  congested  centres  of  the  East  or  passes  on  to  the 
gration  North  and  West,  recoiling  from  the  Southern 
louth  thC  States  as  though  they  were  afflicted  with  pestilen 
tial  conditions.  A  careful  study  of  the  statistics 
of  immigration  reveals  the  fact  that  of  the  million  or  more 
immigrants  annually  arriving  in  this  country  less  than  two 
per  cent,  find  their  destination  in  the  South.  This  tre 
mendous  acquisition  to  the  working  force  of  the  nation, 
bringing  with  it  no  inconsiderable  amount  of  property, 
confers  practically  all  its  benefits  upon  the  Northern  section 
of  this  country. 

In  discussing  this  subject,  a  recent  writer  naively  re 
marks: 

This  continued  avoidance  of  the  South  by  the  immigrants 
is  very  singular,  for  the  climatic  conditions  there  would 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South        505 

seem  to  offer  special  inducements  to  Italians  and  others 
from  the  countries  of  Southern  Europe. 

The  suggestion  that  this  is  in  any  manner  singular  indicates 
a  peculiar  condition  of  mind  on  the  part  of  the  writer  of  the 
article.  There  is  nothing  singular  about  it.  The  solution 
is  in  two  words,  THE  NEGRO.  Immigration  does  not  go  to 
the  South,  on  account  of  his  presence.  White  people  from 
Europe,  as  well  as  those  in  this  country,  do  not  want  to  work 
by  the  side  of  the  negro.  They  instinctively  shun  him  and 
his  surroundings.  They  feel  themselves  degraded  and 
deteriorated  by  competition  with  him.  They  will  not  com 
pete  with  him  for  employment,  and  wherever  he  is  numerous 
they  will  not  go,  and  they  will  not  be  associated  with  him  as 
workers,  except  in  a  few  of  the  lowest  capacities.  Experience 
has  shown  that  in  the  manufacturing  enterprises  of  the  South 
it  is  impossible  to  command  the  services  of  the  two  races 
in  conjunction.  And  so  there  is  positively  no  hope  of  rapid 
progress  for  the  South  except  through  the  substitution  for 
the  negro  race  of  men  of  superior  qualities,  who,  inspired 
by  the  hope  and  prospect  of  elevation,  can  till  her  fertile 
fields,  develop  her  mines,  and  build  up  her  industrial  system. 

Another  deterring  influence  working  upon  the  immigrant 
to  prejudice  him  against  the  adoption  of  the  South  as  a 
residence,  is  the  insecurity  of  life  and  property  generally 
conceded  to  exist  in  that  section.  So  long  as  lynching  bees 
are  in  order,  and  "night  riders"  terrorize  whole  sections  of 
the  land,  so  long  as  bands  of  masked  tobacco-burners  hold 
sway,  and  the  destruction  of  property  and  midnight  as 
sassinations  are  constantly  reported,  grave  difficulties  will 
be  experienced  in  inducing  any  class  of  valuable  immigrants 
to  settle  in  a  community  marked  by  such  a  lawless  disregard 
of  property  and  human  life.  The  average  foreigner  who 
lands  upon  our  shores  seeking  to  better  his  fortune  is  not 
engaged  in  a  search  for  a  community  where  such  unsatis- 


506  The  Negro  Problem 

factory  conditions  exist,  and  naturally  endeavors  to  establish 
himself  in  a  locality  where  his  person  and  property  are  not 
likely  to  be  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  lawless  violence. 

In  addition  to  these  deterring  influences,  the  tone  adopted 
by  those  seeking  to  induce  immigration  to  that  section  of 
the  country  is,  to  say  the  least,  far  from  complimentary 
to  those  whom  they  solicit.  Immigrants  are  apparently  ex 
pected  upon  arrival  to  assume  the  general  social,  industrial, 
and  political  condition  of  the  negro.  So  firmly  fixed  in  the 
minds  of  the  ruling  class  is  the  idea  that  there  must  of 
necessity  be  an  inferior  and  subordinate  element,  that  the 
welcome  accorded  the  industrious  but  unfamiliar  stranger 
is  anything  but  cordial.  Should  large  numbers  of  ambitious 
foreigners  be  attracted  to  that  section  while  the  negro  remains, 
the  difficulty  of  allowing  the  new-comer  to  advance  himself 
socially,  while  the  color  line  remained  strictly  drawn  against 
the  black  man,  would  add  to  the  danger  and  difficulty  of  the 
situation. 

The  different  states  of  the  South  are  at  the  present  time 
making  unusual  efforts  to  attract  the  better  class  of  immi 
grants  from  Europe.  The  cry  for  men  to  perform  the 
necessary  labor  in  the  factories  and  fields  is  coming  up  from 
every  state  in  that  section,  with  the  persistence  of  the  tra 
ditional  appeal  from  Macedonia.  State  assistance  to  de 
sirable  immigrants  is  promised,  committees  visit  foreign 
lands  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  subject,  and  the  Southern 
States  Immigration  Commission  offers  special  inducements 
to  attract  thrifty  people  to  make  their  homes  in  Southern 
communities.  Germany,  France,  Italy,  Norway,  and  Sweden 
have  been  included  in  the  tour  of  a  Georgia  Immigration 
Commission,  charged  with  encouraging  immigration,  and 
every  possible  attraction  is  being  laid  before  the  people  of 
Europe  to  persuade  them  to  establish  their  new  homes  in 
that  progressive  Southern  State. 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South        507 

All  will  be  in  vain  so  long  as  the  negro  remains.  Some 
slight  results  may  be  effected,  but  progress  in  this  direction 
will  be  exceedingly  slow.  Let  the  black  man  gradually 
return  to  his  native  land,  and  the  problem  of  immigration 
for  the  South  will  be  solved.  Immigration  almost  invariably 
follows  isothermal  lines.  Scandinavians  have  been  largely 
instrumental  in  developing  the  grain  fields  of  the  West  and 
Northwest.  Germans  and  Irish  are  mainly  found  through 
out  the  Eastern  and  Middle  sections  of  the  country,  and 
with  the  elimination  of  the  negro,  thrifty  Italians,  Greeks, 
and  other  inhabitants  of  the  populous  regions  surrounding 
the  Mediterranean  Sea  would  rapidly  take  their  place 
as  the  progressive  working  element  in  the  development  of 
the  Southern  States. 

The  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal  and  the  coming 
development  of  the  waterways  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
drawing,  as  they  certainly  will,  large  amounts  of  Northern 
capital  to  the  South,  and  stimulating  business  interests 
in  that  section,  will  surely  operate  to  induce  a  considerable 
migration  of  people  from  the  North  to  offset  the  Northward 
tendency  now  so  perceptible  among  Southern  people. 

This  gradual  replacement  of  the  negro  by  people  of  su 
perior  racial  character  would  bring  about  a  wonderful  de 
velopment  of  Southern  resources.  Her  industries  would 
spring  into  new  life,  and  the  natural  result  of  the  introduction 
of  a  valuable  element  of  this  character  would  be  to  raise  the 
social  and  financial  condition  of  those  already  in  possession 
of  her  land  and  other  property.  No  greater  advantage  could 
accrue  to  the  South  than  the  departure  of  the  negro,  and  the 
substitution  of  a  desirable  body  of  immigrants  from  the 
North  and  from  European  countries. 

(4)  THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE  NEGRO  WOULD  AT  ONCE  RE 
STORE  THE  SOUTH  TO  ITS  NATURAL  POLITICAL  RELATIONSHIP 
WITH  THE  REST  OF  THE  UNION, 


508 


The  Negro  Problem 


From  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  to  the  present  day 
the  politics  of  the  South  have  been  dominated  by  considera 
tions  arising  out  of  the  presence  of  the  negro.  As  Mr.  John 
C.  Reed  phrases  it  in  his  introductory  chapter  to  The  Brothers' 
War,  slavery  (the  negro)  introduced  an  element  of  hetero 
geneity  into  our  otherwise  homogeneous  country.  The 
necessity  of  developing  and  protecting  this  institution  im 
posed  restrictions  upon  freedom  of  political  action  in  that 
section,  and  distorted  its  normal  relations  to  the  rest  of  the 
country.  This  unhealthy  political  condition  has  in  each 
recurring  decade  diminished  the  proportionate  influence 
of  the  region  below  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  both  in  respect 
to  arithmetical  weight  and  moral  authority. 

The  following  table  graphically  presents  the  gradual 
lessening  of  the  South's  proportionate  representation  in  the 
Electoral  College  from  1789  to  1908,  Oklahoma  being 
classified  with  the  South: 

TABLE  VII 


Year. 

Northern 
Membership. 

Southern 
Membership 

Northern 
Percentage. 

Southern 
Percentage. 

1789 

49 

42 

54 

46 

18^0 

178 

118 

60 

40 

1860 

194 

109 

64 

36 

1876 

242 

127 

66 

34 

1908 

335 

148 

70 

3° 

The  relatively  decreasing  political  importance  of  the 
Southern  States  plainly  appears  from  the  foregoing  table. 
Beginning  with  the  first  Electoral  College  in  1789,  the  South, 
favored  by  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  allowing  a 
three  fifths  representation  for  slaves,  possessed  a  substantial 
equality  with  the  North.  Each  recurring  census  and  the 
following  apportionment  have  revealed  an  increasing  pre- 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South       509 

ponderance  of  Northern  representation  in  the  body  charged 
with  the  selection  of  the  nation's  chief  executive,  until  the 
South  now  controls  but  thirty  per  cent,  of  its  membership. 
Her  decline  in  this  respect  has  been  very  rapid  for  the 
past  four  decades,  and  for  the  reasons  before  stated,  her 
actual  political  weight  is  even  less  than  the  figures  would 
indicate. 

The  entire  section  of  the  country  where  the  negro  is  nu 
merous  in  proportion  to  the  whites  stands  in  a  false  political 
relation  to  the  institutions  of  our  government.  Illustrations 
of  that  fact  have  been  given;  another  and  very  striking  one 
may  be  added  at  this  point.  Nothing,  perhaps,  better 
denotes  the  ethical  progress  of  our  political  thought  than 
the  growing  desire  to  make  public  office  the  opportu 
nity  for  young  men  and  women  of  the  educated  class  to 
enter  upon  a  permanent  career  of  honorable  service  to  the 
community. 

By  means  of  the  adoption  of  the  principle  of  reform  in 
the  Civil  Service,  based  upon  equal  chances  for  all  to  obtain 
The  South's  aPP°intment  and  promotion  to  all  but  the  highest 
Exclusion  official  positions,  the  National  Government  has 
Civil  given  practical  demonstration  of  the  democratic 

Service.  principle  of  strict  equality.  Availing  themselves 
of  the  advantages  of  the  laws  passed  in  conformity  with  this 
principle,  thousands  of  white  men  and  women  in  the  North 
find  positions  in  the  federal  service  in  the  great  departments 
at  Washington,  and  in  the  custom-houses,  post-offices,  railway 
mail  service,  and  internal  revenue  offices  throughout  the 
country.  These  official  stations  not  only  afford  them  a 
secure  and  comfortable  livelihood,  but  also  confer  upon 
them  a  certain  distinction  in  the  estimation  of  the  people  of 
their  respective  communities.  They  represent  the  dignity 
and  stability  of  a  great  country. 

From    participation    in    this    attractive    service    with    its 


510  The  Negro  Problem 

emoluments  the  white  men  and  •  women  of  the  South  are 
virtually  debarred.  The  government  can  make  no  dis 
crimination  between  races  at  the  Civil  Service  examination, 
and  the  young  Georgian  who  would  gain  a  $1200  position 
in  the  Atlanta  post-office  might  find  himself  compelled  to 
work  side  by  side  with  a  graduate  of  Tuskegee,  perhaps 
report  to  him  for  orders  and  instruction.  Worse  than  this, 
any  white  woman  of  the  South  accepting  public  position  un 
der  the  National  Government  would,  in  like  manner,  expose 
herself  to  the  hazard  of  intimate  association  with  officials 
of  the  proscribed  race.  So  the  result  has  been  that  the  young 
white  men  and  women  of  that  region  refuse  to  qualify  for 
service  under  the  government;  the  places  are  filled  with  ne 
groes,  who  seize  with  avidity  these  opportunities  to  advance 
their  fortunes  and  to  exercise  the  shadow  of  authority  over 
the  superior  race. 

Mr.  John  Mcllhenny  of  Louisiana,  the  recently  appointed 
Civil  Service  Commissioner,  visited  the  cities  of  the  South 
last  winter  in  the  hopeless  endeavor  to  awaken  an  interest 
in  government  employment  among  the  young  men  and  women 
of  that  section.  His  efforts  were  productive  of  no  result, 
and  that  whole  section  labors  under  the  disadvantage  of 
having  the  better  elements  of  its  citizenship  practically 
excluded  on  racial  grounds  ,from  local  participation  in  the 
governmental  service  of  the  nation. 

The  result  of  the  political  conditions  described  in  Chapters 
IV  and  V  of  Book  II,  is  the  isolation  of  the  South  from  the 
political  thought  of  the  nation.  In  discussing  the  reasons 
which  in  1860  compelled  him,  against  his  sentiments  of 
humanity,  to  refuse  his  support  to  the  Republican  party, 
Samuel  J.  Tilden  pointed  out  that  the  triumph  of  that  sec 
tional  organization  would  virtually  impose  upon  the  South 
a  government  of  one  people  over  another  distinct  people, 
incompatible  with  our  democratic  institutions. 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South        5 1 1 

In  a  letter  of  that  year  addressed  to  the  Honorable  William 
Kent,  Mr.  Tilden  observed: 

A  condition  of  parties  in  which  the  federative  govern 
ment  shall  be  carried  on  by  a  party  having  no  affiliations 
in  the  Southern  States  is  impossible  to  continue.  Such 
a  government  would  be  out  of  all  relation  to  those  States. 
It  would  have  neither  the  nerves  of  sensation  which  convey 
intelligence  to  the  intellect  of  the  body  politic,  nor  the 
ligaments  and  muscles  which  hold  its  parts  together  and 
move  them  in  harmony.  It  would  be  in  substance  the 
government  of  one  people  by  another  people.  That 
system  will  not  do  with  our  race. 

The  language  of  this  statesman  of  superior  mind  correctly 
describes  the  present  condition  of  the  Federal  Government  in 
its  enforced  relation  to  the  South.  The  remedy  lies,  of 
course,  in  the  removal  of  the  negro,  the  cause  of  estrangement, 
the  standing  obstacle  to  a  genuine  homogeneity  between  the 
sections.  That  once  effected,  causes  of  irritation  would  dis 
appear,  immigration  from  Europe  and  the  North  would 
introduce  new  issues  and  new  view-points,  the  South  would 
immediately  resume  her  position  of  influence,  and  the  "more 
perfect  union"  of  the  Constitution  would  result. 

(5)  IT  WOULD  AT  ONCE  ELEVATE  THE  MORAL  TONE  OF 
THE  SOUTH  AND  CONFER  UPON  ITS  PEOPLE  THAT  DIGNITY 
OF  CHARACTER  WHICH  THEY  CAN  NEVER  ACQUIRE  WHILE 
INFLUENCED  BY  CLOSE  ASSOCIATION  WITH  THE  INFERIOR 
RACE,  AND  SUBJECTED  TO  THE  NARROWING  CONDITIONS 
RESULTING  THEREFROM. 

The  writer  finds  it  exceedingly  difficult  adequately  to 
express  his  sentiments  upon  this  phase  of  the  subject,  with 
out  incurring  the  risk  of  giving  unintentional  offence.  All 
must  recognize  the  fact  that  in  a  peculiar  sense  the  South, 
in  its  ideas,  sentiments,  and  prevailing  tone  of  thought, 
differs  radically  from  the  remainder  of  the  country.  To  the 


The  Negro  Problem 

influence  of  the  negro  race  this  difference  must  mainly  be 
attributed. 

Philosophic  observers  have  noted  how  the  strong  imitative 
instinct  of  the  African  impels  him  to  copy  the  mental  and 
physical  characteristics  of  any  race  with  which  he  is  brought 
into  intimate  contact.  In  our  country  he  imitates  the  Amer 
ican,  in  Jamaica  he  is  in  manner  and  speech  a  black  English 
man,  in  Mexico  he  displays  Spanish  characteristics,  while 
in  Hayti  he  exhibits  in  some  degree  the  qualities  of  grace  and 
vivacity  which  distinguish  the  Frenchman. 

Now,  this  influence  of  the  white  upon  the  black  is  not 
without  its  reciprocal  effect.  If,  in  their  generations  of 
association,  the  white  man  has  impressed  upon  the  black 
his  physical  and  mental  peculiarities,  so  in  turn  has  the  negro 
imparted  to  his  Caucasian  neighbor  many  of  his  peculiar 
weaknesses.  We  hear  the  effect  of  the  negro  influence  in  the 
inflection  of  the  voice  of  the  Southerner,  we  see  it  in  his 
attitudes  and  gestures,  we  feel  it  in  the  peculiar  manners 
and  customs  of  the  region. 

This  influence,  with  the  added  element  of  long  estrange 
ment  of  the  sections,  resulting  from  generations  of  bitter 
controversy  over  the  treatment  of  the  negro,  has  developed 
a  spirit  of  isolation  in  the  South  almost  amounting  to  latent 
hostility  to  the  remainder  of  .the  nation.  The  facts  set  forth 
in  former  chapters  illustrate  this  tendency  towards  pro 
vincialism  which  manifests  itself  in  the  literature  and  politics 
of  the  former  slaveholding  states.  The  South  proudly 
asserts  that  it  possesses  its  distinctive  literature,  and  we 
have  already  discussed  the  pregnant  fact  of  its  political 
isolation  in  methods  and  sentiment. 

Since  moral  and  intellectual  advancement  are  inseparably 
connected  with  free  political  institutions,  the  emigration 
of  the  negro  would,  by  the  removal  of  an  incongruous  element 
and  its  replacement  by  men  of  superior  quality,  bring  about 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South        513 

a  gradual  improvement  in  the  general  standards  of  life 
in  that  community.  Then  would  disappear  that  spirit  of 
intolerance  in  political  discussion  in  the  Southern  States, 
which  causes  a  stirring  political  canvass  almost  to  constitute 
a  contest  of  physical  prowess.  The  section  would  soon  be 
able  to  rejoice  in  the  abolition  of  that  unfortunate  tendency 
to  resort  to  physical  violence  on  slight  provocation,  and  to 
justify  acts  of  flagrant  criminality  by  appeal  to  that  survival 
of  savagery  dignified  by  the  name  of  "the  unwritten  law," 
which  now  cause  such  injury  to  its  fair  fame. 

These  unenviable  traits  of  character,  of  which  the  news 
papers  afford  us  almost  daily  examples,  are  but  the  unfailing 
result  of  centuries  of  disregard  of  the  rights  of  the  inferior 
race,  reacting  upon  those  who,  not  accustomed  to  considering 
all  men  as  endowed  with  capacity  for  social  and  political  equal 
ity,  find  difficulty  in  according  to  any  true  freedom  of  speech 
and  action.  With  the  exodus  of  the  negro  and  the  substi 
tution  of  an  intelligent  and  self-respecting  labor  element, 
drawn  from  the  North  and  from  European  immigration 
of  the  better  sort,  the  spirit  of  devotion  to  the  national  ideals 
would  manifest  new  vigor  in  the  Southern  States. 

By  reason  of  the  unfortunate  strife  occasioned  by  the 

existence  of  the   negro,  the    South  has  for  upward  of  half 

a  century  been  a  stranger  to  the  higher  impulses 

Isolation  of  attending  our  national  development.     The  figures 

the  South.    Q£  tjie  men  wnose  influence  has  been  so  potential 

in  the  work  of  transforming  a  group  of  jealous,  discordant 
colonies  into  a  harmonious  national  structure,  and  of  those 
equally  heroic  spirits  to  whose  successful  efforts  we  owe  its 
preservation,  appeal  but  feebly  to  the  imagination  of  its 
people.  The  illustrious  services  of  those  renowned  states 
men  of  the  early  Virginia  period — Washington,  Jefferson, 
Madison,  and  Marshall — are  the  priceless  possession  of  all 
sections  of  the  United  States.  But  in  that  equally  valuable 


514  The  Negro  Problem 

contribution  of  Northern  influence  and  character,  in  Hamil 
ton,  Webster,  Lincoln,  Seward,  and  Grant,  the  South  ex 
hibits  but  the  most  insignificant  interest. 

No  worthy  representation  in  marble  or  bronze  of  the 
world-honored  Emancipator  adorns  a  Southern  city;  the 
mighty  presence  of  the  great  expounder  of  the  Constitution 
is  unfamiliar  to  the  present  generation  in  the  South.  Forced 
into  this  false  attitude  toward  the  development  of  the  higher 
national  life,  we  find  her  people  compelled  to  elevate  upon 
the  pedestals  of  heroism  the  figures  of  a  doctrinaire,  whose 
sincerity  of  purpose  failed  to  atone  for  lack  of  possession  of  the 
necessary  qualifications  of  the  statesman  or  administrator; 
and  a  distinguished  soldier  whose  personal  charm  and  noble 
bearing  alike  in  victory  or  defeat  will  never  blind  the  future 
historian  to  the  limitations  of  military  ability  which  precluded 
him  from  commanding  victory  for  the  cause  which  he  had 
mistakenly  espoused. 

Let  us  make  this  point  clear.  The  averment  is  that  the 
existence  of  an  alien  negro  element,  with  its  attendant  con 
sequences,  estranges  the  section  where  it  is  mainly  found 
from  the  other  parts  of  the  country.  Only  with  the  re 
moval  of  that  element  can  that  estrangement  cease,  and 
closer  and  more  natural  relations  be  formed.  With  this 
removal  effected,  there  would  no  longer  be  occasion  for  the 
Governor  of  a  Southern  State  to  announce  to  his  applauding 
constituents  in  formal  debate,  that  he  "would  sooner 
live  under  the  Stars  and  Bars  with  Jefferson  Davis  as 
President  than  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  with  Theodore 
Roosevelt  as  Chief  Executive";  or  for  his  equally  prominent 
antagonist  in  like  manner  to  refer  to  the  people  of  the 
North  as  "South-haters"  and  "our  enemies." 

With  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  negro  under  the 
operation  of  Lincoln's  plan,  and  the  surcease  of  the  perni 
cious  racial  strife  which  has  so  long  operated  alienate 


The  Rehabilitation  of  the  South       515 

the  South  in  feeling  from  the  other  sections,  this  senti 
ment  of  latent  hostility  would  vanish,  to  be  succeeded  by 
the  fullest  rehabilitation,  founded  upon  unity  of  interest, 
sentiment,  and  affection,  thus  effecting  the  realization  of 
the  "more  perfect  union"  of  which  our  forefathers  dreamed 
and  for  which  they  so  mightily  endeavored. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  REGENERATION  OF  THE  NATION 

That  our  sons  may  grow  up  as  the  young  plants;  and  that  our 
daughters  may  be  as  the  polished  corners  of  the  temple. — 
PSALM  cxliv.,  12. 

IN  our  discussion  of  the  results  which  would  be  produced 
by  the  adoption  and  execution  of  the  plan  for  the  solu 
tion  of  the  negro  problem  proposed  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  we 
have  considered  in  the  first  instance  the  transformation  of 
character  and  general  emancipation  of  spirit  which  would 
result  to  the  race  most  intimately  concerned  in  the  solution 
of  the  problem.  We  have  also  given  consideration  to  the 
ameliorating  consequences  which  the  departure  of  the  negro 
would  bring  about  in  that  section  of  our  country  which 
from  the  very  inception  of  the  problem  has  been  the  greatest 
sufferer  from  the  presence  of  this  alien,  unassimilable  race. 
We  have  seen  that  the  consequences  of  the  proposed 
solution  would  be  the  emancipation  of  the  South  from  the 
cloud  of  distrust  and  difficulty  with  which  it  is  peculiarly 
menaced,  that  its  unfortunate  isolation  would  immediately 
cease  upon  the  adoption  and  execution  of  the  proposed 
plan  for  the  removal  of  the  negro  race,  and  that  it  would  no 
longer  continue  to  be,  as  it  is  now,  a  separate  and  distinct 
section  and  community  of  the  nation.  In  other  words,  its 
character  as  a  non-homogeneous  portion  of  the  national 
domain  would  pass  away,  and  in  the  same  sense  that  there 
is  now  no  distinctive  and  characteristic  feature  of  difference 

516 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation      517 

existing  between  the  North  and  the  East,  Lincoln's  solution 
would  efface  the  dividing  line  which  has  existed  between  the 
two  sections,  North  and  South,  from  the  very  origin  of  our 
nationality. 

In  the  former  chapter  entitled  "Why  Attempt  to  Solve  the 
Problem  at  All?"  the  reasons  have  been  presented  which  so 

urgently  demand  that  some  action  be  taken  in  order 
A  Homo 
geneous        that  the  dangers  and  difficulties  therein  depicted 

may  pass  away.  And  so,  in  a  general  way,  this 
chapter,  which  discusses  the  regeneration  of  the  nation  and 
the  changes  of  character  incident  to  the  elimination  of  the 
negro  as  a  factor  in  our  civilization,  will  concern  itself  chiefly 
with  the  beneficent  results  which  will  certainly  follow  the 
eradication  of  the  evils  attendant  upon  the  presence  of  the 
negro,  which  it  was  attempted  to  place  before  the  reader 
earlier  in  the  work. 

One  of  the  discouraging  features  of  the  current  discussion 
of  the  problem  is  the  tacit  assumption  on  the  part  of  all  con 
cerned  that  the  negro  must  remain  with  us,  and  that  with 
him  must  indefinitely  remain  all  the  admitted  evils  of  his 
presence,  however  zealously  we  may  seek  to  lessen  them. 
One  after  another  of  those  who  take  it  upon  themselves 
to  discuss  in  its  familiar  aspects  the  solution  of  this  problem, 
begin  with  the  statement  that,  great  as  the  acknowledged 
evils  are,  and  thankful  as  we  would  be  to  ascertain  a  practical 
remedy,  we  must  for  all  time  be  burdened  with  the  dangers 
and  difficulties  attending  the  presence  of  the  negro. 

In  a  recent  issue  of  a  magazine  devoted  to  the  welfare  of 
the  Southern  community,  the  familiar  note  is  sounded  in 
this  fashion:  THE  BLOOD-POISON  OF  SLAVERY  AND  NEGRO 

SUFFRAGE    WILL     AFFECT    THE    NATION     FOR    CENTURIES     TO 

COME.  North  and  South,  white  and  black,  the  advocates 
alike  of  the  negro's  education  and  elevation  and  the  dis 
paragers  of  his  ability  to  advance  himself,  all  in  the  same 


5i 8  The  Negro  Problem 

hopeless  and  repining  mood  assume  that  this  great  obstacle 
to  the  advance  of  our  civilization,  this  profound  difficulty  in 
our  educational  development,  this  minatory  phase  of  our 
political  condition,  must  indefinitely  continue  to  exist,  and 
that  the  best  that  we  may  do  is  in  some  slight  measure  to 
ameliorate  the  present  situation.  It  would  seem  that,  after 
serious  study  and  reflection  upon  the  subject,  in  the  light 
of  the  experience  of  the  past  forty  years,  only  the  purblind 
or  the  prejudiced  could  cling  to  this  antiquated  theory,  and 
ignore  the  fact  that  the  radical  solution  of  the  problem  may 
be  clearly  effected  by  the  adoption  of  the  policy  proposed  by 
Abraham  Lincoln. 

Let  us,  therefore,  for  the  moment  consider  what  results 
to  the  nation  would  ensue,  what  generic  change  of  view  of 
the  problem  would  immediately  follow  the  adoption  of  the 
remedial  measure  proposed  in  this  work,  viz.,  the  com 
plete  elimination  of  all  persons  of  African  blood  from 
citizenship  of  the  country,  and  their  assisted  emigration  to 
other  soil. 

Now,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  self-evident  that  upon  this 
measure  being  adopted  and  placed  in  execution,  in  the  natural 
development  now  progressing  by  which  every  Caucasian 
element  entering  into  our  body  politic  is  being  fused  into 
a  homogeneous  people,  within  a  few  generations  we  shall 
present  to  the  world  the  impressive  spectacle  of  a  great 
people  containing  no  discordant  racial  divisions.  It  is 
no  exaggeration  to  say  that  all  the  other  problems  concerning 
the  eventual  character  of  the  citizenship  of  our  nation  hinge 
upon  our  disposition  of  the  African  race. 

Let  it  once  be  thoroughly  understood  and  appreciated 

that  this  is  to  be  now  and  forever  in  the  noblest  sense  a  white 

A  White       man's  country;  that  only  the  Caucasian  race  in  its 

Man's          numerous  subdivisions  is  to  be  allowed  to  enter 

into  the  future  citizenship    of    this   prosperous 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation     519 

land,  and  all  vexatious  questions  as  to  Chinese  or  Japanese 
citizenship  would  simply  disappear.  But  so  long  as  we  have 
with  us  this  alien,  inferior,  and  unassimilable  element,  so 
long  the  argument  may  be  plausibly  urged  that  we  should 
admit  to  residence  as  well  as  to  citizenship  all  peoples  of  the 
inferior  races.  The  presence  of  the  negro  justifies  the  im 
migration  of  the  Chinaman.  If  black  menial  service  is 
desirable,  why  not  permit  the  Japanese,  who  are  likely  to 
surpass  the  negro  in  his  peculiar  field,  to  form  a  component 
element  of  our  great  national  organization? 

Once  finding  ourselves  freed  from  the  embarrassment  of 
the  presence  of  the  African  race  in  this  country,  there  never 
would  be  a  question  which  possibly  could  arise  as  to  the  ad 
mission  of  any  people  of  inferior  character  to  the  blessed  priv 
ilege  of  citizenship  in  this  American  Republic.  Then  would 
cease  this  unenlightened  discussion  as  to  what  racial  ele 
ments  should  be  allowed  to  enter  our  gateways,  and,  logically 
and  consistently,  only  those  presenting  the  necessary  quali 
fications  of  Caucasian  lineage  and  individual  freedom  from 
defect  would  be  admitted  to  share  in  our  national  life. 

The  result  of  the  adoption  and  fulfilment  of  the  plan  of 
Lincoln  would  be  to  place,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the 
South  in  her  right  relationship  to  the  other  sections  of  the 
country;  her  rehabilitation  as  an  industrial,  intellectual,  and 
political  factor  would  be  effected,  and  our  law-makers  would 
no  longer  be  hourly  placed  in  the  vexatious  predicament  of 
being  compelled  either  to  give  peculiar  consideration  to  the 
demands  of  a  particular  geographical  section  of  the  country, 
or  to  incur  the  danger  of  arousing  sectional  strife.  Depre 
cate  discussion  as  we  may,  and  deeply  as  we  may  deplore  the 
result  of  the  continued  agitation,  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to 
the  fact  that  this  never-ending  disputation  over  the  race 
question  will  proceed  so  long  as  the  clash  of  two  antagonistic 
races — the  one  but  recently  emerged  from  barbarism,  the 


The  Negro  Problem 

other  crowned  with  the  triumphs  of    progress — continues. 
The  discussion  cannot  be  avoided. 

Upon  this  subject  the  recent  statement  of  ex-Governor 
Vardaman,  of  Mississippi,  himself  exceedingly  familiar  with 
the  problem,  may  be  cited  as  expressing  the  absolute  inutility 
of  all  efforts  to  stifle  discussion.  In  speaking  of  the  negro 
question,  he  says: 

The  organization  of  press  clubs  for  the  purpose  of  dis 
couraging  the  discussion  of  the  question,  or  the  failure  of 
governors  to  appoint  this  commission  for  the  same  purpose, 
will  have  just  about  as  much  effect  in  keeping  the  people 
from  talking  about  it  and  discussing  it  as  telling  a  hungry 
man  that  he  is  not  hungry  would  satisfy  the  cravings  of 
his  stomach.  They  may  cry  harmony,  but  there  is  no 
harmony;  they  may  say  there  is  no  problem,  but  still  the 
problem  is  there;  they  may  say  there  is  no  race  question, 
but  the  race  question  is  with  us. 

And  so  as  a  first  important  and  much  to  be  desired  result, 
sufficient  indeed  to  justify  its  adoption  if  no  other  ensued, 
would  be  the  resultant  homogeneity  of  thought,  spirit,  and 
feeling  among  the  people  of  the  nation,  and  the  absolute 
elimination  of  every  serious  question  of  racial  character 
among  us.  While  the  solution  of  the  problem  would  be 
reaching  practical  operation,  little  by  little,  line  by  line, 
precept  upon  precept,  there  would  be  developing  in  the 
South  a  sentiment  of  nationality  in  conformity  with  that 
existing  in  the  rest  of  the  nation,  and  for  the  first  time 
since  the  slave  bark  landed  its  unfortunate  freight  at  James 
town,  the  country  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf,  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  would  be  one  in  feeling  and  sentiment,  and 
the  United  States  of  America  something  more  than  a  geo 
graphical  expression. 

In  considering  the  removal  of  the  evils  brought  about  by 
the  presence  of  the  negro  race,  particular  attention  should  be 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation       52 1 

paid  to  the  effect  of  negro  competition  upon  those  en 
gaged  in  the  more  difficult  and  arduous  occupations  in  the 
Benefits  to  country.  We  have  studied  in  Book  I,  Chapter 
Labor.  y?  jlow  ^  industrial  rivalry  of  the  members 
of  that  race  operates  to  depress  the  earnings,  and,  by  conse 
quence,  the  condition  of  living,  of  those  engaged  in  occu 
pations  in  which  the  negro  may  to  an  extent  enter  as  a 
competitor. 

During  the  past  winter  the  business  of  transportation  was 
impeded  by  a  prolonged  strike  among  the  longshoremen  and 
freight  handlers  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  as  it  progressed 
the  daily  newspapers  contained  accounts  of  the  marshalling 
of  bands  of  negroes,  under  supervision  of  the  armed  em 
ployees  of  the  corporations,  into  what  are  known  as  gangs 
of  strike  breakers.  To  state  the  matter  with  exactitude,  so 
long  as  business  in  this  particular  industry  continues  in  its 
normal  course,  the  negro  is  practically  excluded  from  partici 
pation  as  a  laborer  by  reason  of  that  racial  antagonism  which 
we  have  already  discussed,  but  immediately  the  situation 
changes  and  the  white  men  engaged  in  the  work  seek  to 
obtain  an  increase  of  earnings  by  a  resort  to  the  method  of 
a  strike,  the  negro  is  brought  into  requisition  to  compel  them 
to  submit  to  the  requirements  of  their  employers.  Once  the 
controversy  is  adjusted,  the  negro  speedily  ceases  to  continue 
his  employment. 

A  little  examination  of  the  question  will  make  it  clearly 
appear  that  wherever  considerable  numbers  of  negroes  exist, 
the  labor  of  the  white  man  is  correspondingly  affected  with 
insecurity,  and  that  so  long  as  by  reason  of  stress  of  circum 
stances,  ignorance,  and  the  urgent  demands  for  existence, 
the  negro  is  willing  to  submit  himself  to  almost  intolerable 
conditions  of  labor,  the  wages  of  the  competing  white  man 
are  correspondingly  depreciated.  This  distinctly  appears  by 
a  consideration  of  the  condition  of  peonage  which  is  gradually 


522  The  Negro  Problem 

being  established  in  one  section  of  the  country,  and  in  that 
section  only  in  which  the  negro  is  found;  the  condition  of 
the  laboring  rural  negro  in  the  lower  South  being  virtually 
that  of  a  permanent  peonage.  Any  person  engaging  in 
ordinary  unskilled  labor  in  that  section,  be  he  Northerner, 
Southerner,  German  or  Italian,  native  or  immigrant,  is 
likely  to  find  himself  reduced  to  the  same  classification  as 
the  negro. 

The  United  States  Government  meets  almost  insurmount 
able  difficulty,  even  with  the  most  convincing  evidence,  in 
securing  conviction  in  white  peonage  cases  in  the  South,  for 
the  reason  that  juries  selected  from  the  white  men  of  the 
vicinity,  accustomed  to  consider  the  negro  as  a  fit  subject 
for  punitive  restrictions  to  compel  him  to  perform  labor 
for  which  he  has  contracted,  are  indisposed  to  render  a 
verdict  of  guilty  against  men  of  their  own  employing  class 
engaged  in  similar  efforts  to  control  the  service  of  white  men. 

To  one  who  philosophically  considers  the  situation  the 
reason  for  this  difficulty  is  clear.  So  long  as  the  subservient, 
uncomplaining  negro  silently  submits  to  the  assertion  of  su 
periority  in  others,  and  voices  no  effective  protest  against  his 
degradation,  so  long  will  those  who  control  his  actions  con 
tinue  to  attempt  the  oppressive  subjection  of  all  men  who 
permit  themselves  to  compete  with  him  in  the  exercise  of 
manual  labor. 

The  belief  has  been  before  expressed  that,  given  absolute 
freedom  of  action,  uncontrolled  by  the  exercise  of  Northern 
political  power  or  moral  influence,  the  re-enslavement  of 
the  negro  would  be  but  a  question  of  a  brief  period.  An 
acute  observer,  Professor  H.  G.  Wells,  one  of  the  earnest 
and  philosophic  students  of  social  affairs  of  the  time,  re 
cently  remarked  in  discussing  the  probable  result  of  con 
temporary  conditions 1 : 

1  The  Future  of  America,  p.  206. 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation       523 

Come  but  a  little  sinking  from  intelligence  toward 
coarseness  and  passion,  and  the  South  will  yet  endeavor 
to  impose  servitude  anew  upon  this  colored  people  or 
secede — that  trouble  is  not  yet  over. 

Considering  the  restraining  influence  above  adverted  to, 
and  the  manifest  impossibility  with  the  growing  educational 
development  and  industrial  progress  of  the  negro  race  of 
the  re-establishment  of  slavery  in  any  form,  his  fear  is  ill 
founded.  Its  existence,  however,  serves  sharply  to  indicate 
the  portentous  dimensions  of  the  problem  as  it  presents 
itself  to  the  foreign  observer,  and  to  demonstrate  that  vigor 
and  common-sense,  not  reliance  upon  necromancy,  must 
guide  us  in  our  management  of  this  subject.  The  perma 
nent  establishment  in  any  community  of  an  industrially  in 
ferior  class  involves  a  continual  menace  to  those  immediately 
superimposed,  and  will  always  operate  as  a  perpetual  clog 
upon  any  substantial  advancement  on  the  part  of  the  mass 
of  the  people. 

The  South  feels  this  in  its  sensitiveness  to  criticism.  Even 
the  kindly  tempered  remarks  of  Professor  Wells,  peculiarly 
free  from  any  suggestion  of  interest  or  personal  bias,  aroused 
a  storm  of  denunciatory  protest  from  Richmond  to  San 
Antonio.  If,  as  has  been  said,  the  judgment  of  foreigners 
is  to  be  regarded  as  in  some  degree  expressing  the  verdict 
of  posterity,  this  nation  can  none  too  soon  bring  about  the 
effectual  solution  of  the  negro  problem. 

A  further  element  in  the  regeneration  of  our  nation  through 

the  assisted  emigration  of  the  negro  race  would  be  the  com- 

plete  eradication  of  the  great  political  evil  which 

on  Political  has  been  presented  in  two  former  chapters  of 

.ions,  j^jg    worj^    vjz^    tne    unfairiy    disproportionate 

representation  of  the  sections  of  the  country  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  and  in  the  Electoral  College.  With  the 
decitizenization  of  the  black  race  and  the  establishment  of 


524  The  Negro  Problem 

a  ratio  of  representation  based  solely  upon  effective  citizen 
ship,  the  true  principle  of  representation  would  for  the  first 
time  in  our  history  be  established. 

By  this  means,  and  by  this  means  alone,  the  dignity  and 
integrity  of  our  Constitution  as  designed  by  its  framers  will 
be  restored.  The  mistakes  of  the  last  half-century  will  be 
rectified,  and  for  the  first  time  since  its  foundation  the 
government  will  become  a  truly  representative  democracy. 
Not  only  in  its  constitutional  phase  is  the  situation  one  im 
possible  of  continuance,  but  in  its  relation  to  those  voluntary 
organizations  known  as  political  parties  the  suppressed  negro 
vote  presents  a  most  serious  question. 

But  a  few  months  ago  the  Republican  National  Convention 
assembled  at  Chicago  to  select  candidates  for  the  Presidency 
and  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States.  At  that  con 
vention  some  twelve  to  fourteen  Southern  States  were  repre 
sented  in  the  main  by  negro  delegates,  men  of  no  respectable 
standing  in  the  communities  which  they  assumed  to  repre 
sent;  voiceless,  voteless,  and  without  influence  upon  the 
election.  Repellent  rumors  were  in  circulation  as  to  the 
means  employed  to  secure  the  support  in  the  convention 
of  these  non-representative  persons.  Controlling,  as  they 
did,  something  approaching  one-fourth  of  the  votes  of  the 
assemblage,  their  presence  was  a  travesty  upon  political 
organization,  an  affront  to  intelligence,  a  degradation  to  those 
compelled  to  associate  with  them,  and  a  complete  demonstra 
tion  of  the  impossibility  of  continuing  party  government 
based  upon  such  conditions. 

This  political  problem  in  the  South  is  one  certain  to  breed 
danger  in  the  future.  There  is  nothing  comparable  to  it 
in  the  Roman  Republic,  where  under  the  preservation  of 
ancient  forms  the  spirit  of  liberty  in  the  people  was  vitiated 
and  their  freedom  betrayed,  or  in  mediaeval  history,  where 
in  place  of  genuine  political  action,  fictions  and  outworn 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation        525 

theories  of  divinely  derived  rights  constituted  the  guid 
ing  principles  of  the  state.  Nothing,  it  may  be  safely  as 
serted,  can  be  cited  from  historical  records  to  equal  this 
hypocritical  condition  of  affecting  to  treat  the  negro  as  a 
citizen  entitled  to  representation  and  influence,  whereas  in 
reality  he  has  in  one  manner  or  another  been  deprived  of 
every  function  and  qualification  of  citizenship.  This  per 
sistent  disregard  of  the  eternal  principles  of  truth  and  justice 
in  their  application  to  the  conduct  of  the  political  affairs  of 
our  country  can  produce  no  other  result  than  the  degradation 
of  our  standards  of  official  action  and  the  eventual  subversion 
of  the  constitutional  principles  upon  which  our  prosperity 
is  founded. 

A  further  result  of  the  adoption  and  execution  of  the  pro 
posed  plan  of  Lincoln  would  be  the  averting  of  the  dangers 
The  Danger  which  menace  the  integrity  of  the  country  arising 

°f  from   the    presence    of    this    large    and    rapidly 

Race  War.  .       .r  ,    Ar  . 

strengthening  element  of  African  people.     How 

such  dangers  may  shape  themselves,  in  what  manner  future 
trouble  may  arise,  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  forecast  at 
the  present  time.  During  the  period  in  which  the  race  was 
in  slavery,  the  most  perspicacious  minds  continually  appre 
hended  that  in  some  way  then  yet  to  be  determined  the 
presence  of  the  black  man  would  bring  disaster  to  the  nation. 
It  must  needs  be  that  offences  will  come,  but  woe  unto  that 
man  through  whom  the  offence  cometh.  And  how,  and  in 
what  particular  way,  the  constant  violation  of  the  primal 
principles  involved  in  the  suppression  of  negro  citizen 
ship  will  work  itself  out  in  harm  to  the  nation,  is  a  matter 
yet  to  be  ascertained;  but  surely,  surely  malign  results 
will  follow  our  continued  infraction  of  the  inexorable  moral 
law. 

While  in  this  regard  no  prediction  is  hazarded,  the  sug 
gestion  is  made  that  there  are  numerous  ways  in  which  great 


526  The  Negro  Problem 

national   disaster   may  be  incurred.     Some  of  these  may 
profitably  be  given  brief  consideration. 

First,  by  a  renewal  of  the  strife  between  North  and  South, 
over  the  ever-burning  question  of  apportionment  based  upon 
unrepresented  voters,  or  upon  the  question  of  what  educa 
tional  methods  should  be  adopted  should  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  in  response  to  the  urgent  appeals  from  the  South 
for  assistance,  attempt  to  control  the  schools,  colleges,  and 
universities  of  that  section.  It  is  putting  the  matter  none 
too  strongly  to  state  that  if  the  next  Congress  should  pass, 
with  the  approval  of  the  President,  a  bill  reducing  the 
representation  of  the  South  in  the  Electoral  College  and 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  proportion  to  the  num 
ber  of  disfranchised  negro  citizens,  in  practical  operation, 
reducing  its  representation  in  the  lower  house  from  128 
members  to  79  members,  such  a  sentiment  would  be 
aroused  in  the  section  affected  that  but  little  further  in 
centive  would  be  needed  to  provoke  a  resort  to  physical 
force.  Indeed,  it  is  only  the  great  preponderance  in  popu 
lation  and  wealth  of  the  North  that  would  in  such  case  make 
the  proposition  for  such  reduction  in  the  slightest  degree 
feasible. 

Again,  while  at  the  present  time  no  great  apprehension 
upon  this  point  may  be  entertained,  if  the  Northern  solution 
of  the  problem  be  energetically  attempted,  and  within  the 
coming  decades  the  blacks  of  the  South  be  educated  and 
permitted  to  acquire  land  and  other  property,  and  if  they 
yet  continue  to  be  deprived  of  the  franchise,  the  privilege 
of  the  jury  box,  and  the  ordinary  facilities  afforded  by  com 
mon  carriers  and  other  public  utilities,  in  such  case  the 
danger  of  a  violent  uprising  of  an  educated  and  self-respecting 
negro  population  would  not  be  a  thing  entirely  to  be  disre 
garded.  While  from  the  present  appearances  there  could 
be  no  hope  of  a  successful  issue  of  such  a  revolt,  history 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation       527 

admonishes  us  ihat  the  danger  of  such  a  servile  insurrection 
is  not  to  be  measured  by  the  probability  of  its  favorable 
result. 

The  servile  insurrections  of  Rome,  the  peasant  revolts  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  the  Irish  risings  of  later  years,  the  Indian 
Mutiny,  and  hundreds  of  other  hopeless  attempts,  including 
the  ineffectual  slave  risings  of  the  South,  all  apprise  us  that 
the  repression  of  the  human  intellect  will  from  time  to  time 
occasion  mutinous  revolt,  although  the  prospect  of  successful 
result  may  seem  to  the  dispassionate  mind  to  be  exceedingly 
remote.  It  is  as  certain  as  the  night  follows  the  day  that 
the  project  of  enriching,  arming,  and  educating  a  disfran 
chised  negro  population  in  this  democracy  is  pregnant  with 
danger  to  the  peace  of  the  nation. 

Yet  another  occasion  of  danger  presents  itself.  We  have 
observed  how  as  the  African  race  advances  in  material 
Th  wealth  and  intellectual  progress  it  reaches  out 

Sympathy  to  bring  itself  in  touch  with  other  peoples  of 
0  or*  kindred  character.  We  have  noted  how  in  the 
language  of  the  leading  exponents  of  advanced  African 
thought  the  color  problem  is  not  one  affecting  the  relations 
alone  of  white  and  black,  but  that  the  yellow  and  red  races 
are  called  upon  to  make  common  cause  against  the  Caucasian. 

True  it  is  that  in  his  primitive  condition  the  black  man 
has  always  displayed  the  most  unflinching  loyalty  to  our 
country.  But  given  the  wealth,  education,  and  the  industrial 
progress  which  they  demand  and  which  may  not  be  legiti 
mately  denied  to  them,  and  yet  debarred  from  participation 
in  government  affairs  and  condemned  to  a  perpetual  con 
dition  of  social  inferiority,  the  four,  five,  or  even  ten  millions 
of  sullen  and  resentful  black  men  of  the  South  would  be 
quite  as  dangerous  an  element  in  the  event  of  a  future  war 
with  the  yellow  races  of  the  Orient  as  would  a  hold  full  of 
mutineers  upon  a  battleship  engaged  in  deadly  encounter. 


528  The  Negro  Problem 

This  is  not  an  endeavor  to  conjure  up  fictitious  dangers. 
The  purpose  is  simply  to  point  out  the  fact  that  the  existence 
of  a  numerous  element  of  despised,  disfranchised,  unrepre 
sented,  yet  ambitious  and  aspiring  people,  operates  as  a 
tremendous  source  of  peril  to  any  community  in  which 
such  a  population  is  found,  and  that  only  by  the  adop 
tion  of  the  plan  of  Lincoln  can  this  perpetual  menace  be 
avoided. 

And  further,  perhaps  greater  than  any  other  of  the  bene 
ficial  results  which  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  flow  from 
Increase  of  tne  executi°n  of  tne  proposed  plan  for  the  removal 
Self-  of  the  negro  would  be  the  increase  of  the  feeling 

of  national  self-respect  which  would  be  the  direct 
outcome  of  its  adoption  and  successful  accomplishment. 
It  may  perhaps  be  said  that  as  a  nation  we  have  a  sufficiently 
high  appreciation  of  our  merits,  and  in  a  certain  way  we  do 
possess  an  assumption  of  superiority  largely  founded  upon 
our  wonderful  numerical  growth  and  abounding  material 
prosperity.  And  yet  we  reveal  from  time  to  time  the  under 
lying  consciousness  that  our  progress  has  been  chiefly  in 
the  field  of  material  advancement,  and  that  our  growth  in 
intellectual  and  moral  ideals  has  not  quite  kept  pace  with 
our  increasing  superiority  in  practical  affairs. 

We  display  an  uneasy  apprehension  that  in  our  treat 
ment  of  the  negro,  North  and  South,  in  the  methods  by  which 
in  one  section  we  relegate  him  to  a  life  of  menial  service  and 
social  isolation,  and  the  methods  by  which  in  the  other  sec 
tion  we  are  gradually  reducing  him  to  the  condition  of  a  dis 
franchised  serf,  we  are  doing  violence  to  our  democratic  ideals, 
and  that,  thoughtfully  considered,  our  conduct  in  this  matter 
is  a  species  of  hypocritical  pretence.  Whatever  the  short 
comings  of  our  conduct  toward  the  negro  may  have  been 
in  the  past — during  his  days  of  slavery  and  in  his  half- 
acquired  condition  of  freedom — we  are  guilty  of  injustice 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation       529 

and  double  dealing  in  maintaining  our  present  attitude 
toward  that  unfortunate  race.  We  extend  to  it  the  promise 
of  education,  social  equality,  and  political  freedom,  with  no 
intention  of  allowing  it  to  realize  its  fulfilment. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  in  earlier  chapters  how  this  situa 
tion  has  been  forced  upon  us,  how  by  those  controlling  laws 
of  nature  whose  effect  can  never  be  safely  disregarded  we  have 
been  compelled  to  assume  this  dissembling  attitude  toward 
the  negro,  and  that  in  the  nature  of  things  there  is  no  reason 
able  likelihood  that  a  change  for  the  better  in  this  regard 
will  ever  occur.  And  thus  it  follows  that  our  regeneration 
can  only  be  effected  by  his  removal.  So  long  as  he  remains 
in  our  body  politic,  we  never  can  become  truly  free  from  this 
disquieting  consciousness  that  we  are  compelled  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  situation  to  violate  the  finer  instincts  which 
should  regulate  our  conduct. 

The  wrong  and  injustice  which  we  have  inflicted,  and  in 
a  large  measure  which  we  are  daily  inflicting  upon  the  mem 
bers  of  this  feebler  race,  will  of  necessity  react  upon  us.  By 
the  workings  of  a  great  undefined  but  inexorable  moral 
law,  our  unjustifiable  treatment  of  our  black  brother  will 
entail  upon  us  and  upon  our  descendants  to  remote  genera 
tions,  evils  greater  by  far  than  any  which  might  possibly 
ensue  from  the  immediate  adoption  of  the  policy  of  assisted 
emigration. 

Our  attitude  toward  this  question  is  accurately  charac 
terized  as  being  hypocritical.  In  one  breath  we  affirm  the 
equality  of  mankind,  and  in  our  constitutions  and  statutes 
pledge  state  and  nation  to  the  practical  recognition  of  this 
equality  by  allowing  the  negro,  in  theory,  participation  in 
our  political  affairs.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  as  has  been 
abundantly  demonstrated,  he  is  absolutely  deprived  of  all 
such  participation.  We  know  this,  we  condone  it,  we  submit 
to  it,  and  we  are  of  necessity  hypocrites  in  this  regard.  And 

34 


530  The  Negro  Problem 

as  in  the  individual  life  no  lasting  success  can  be  won  except 
by  honest  effort  proceeding  from  a  life  which  in  itself  stands 
square  with  the  principles  of  righteousness,  and  as  moral 
ill-health  will  paralyze  every  effort  and  render  sterile  and 
fruitless  all  exertions  not  based  upon  rectitude,  so  in  our 
national  life,  unless  our  treatment  of  this  race  does  embody 
a  truth  and  can  be  justified  by  principles  of  square  dealing, 
we  can  look  for  no  other  result  of  this  hypocrisy  than  an 
impairment  of  our  self-respect  and  a  constant  debasement 
of  our  national  ideals,  working  out  the  progressive  degenera 
tion  of  the  political  morality  of  the  people. 

Whilst  we  permit  this  negation  of  democracy,  and  tamely 
endure  this  hourly  source  of  embarrassment  and  humiliation, 
we  cannot  place  ourselves  in  position  to  do  our  best,  either 
for  ourselves  or  for  the  generations  to  follow  us.  We  know 
our  weakness,  and  the  world  knows  it.  It  belittles  us  in  all 
our  relations  with  foreign  countries.  It  lowers  their  con 
ception  of  our  political  institutions.  It  lessens  their  respect 
for  our  individual  character.  It  detracts  from  the  growing 
respect  with  which  our  nation  is  regarded  since  we  have 
assumed  our  rightful  position  as  one  of  the  great  powers  of 
the  earth,  and  essayed  to  assume  a  leading  part  in  the  drama 
of  the  nations. 

We  here  encounter  another  embarrassment.     Our  nation 
is  now  face   to   face  with-  certain  troublous  questions  in 
volving  future  extension  of  our  citizenship,  prob- 
The  Cues-  __T     .  .      , 

tion  of  our  lems  of  the  gravest  import.     We  have  acquired, 

?e6ndes  an<^  w*^  continue  to  acquire,  certain  outly 
ing  islands  and  tracts  of  territory  essential  to 
our  safety  and  prosperity,  largely  peopled,  however,  by 
members  of  inferior  races.  Nothing  in  the  books  of  fate 
is  more  clearly  written  than  that  our  sphere  of  influ 
ence  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  will  be  extended  until  all  of 
the  islands  surrounding  it,  and  such  portions  of  the  main- 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation        531 

land  as  may  be  essential  for  us  to  acquire,  will  be  brought 
under  our  control. 

We  have  already  acquired  Porto  Rico.  For  the  past  ten 
years  we  have  controlled  the  destinies  of  Cuba,  are  now 
in  possession  of  that  fertile  island.  No  matter  what  tem 
porary  arrangement  may  be  made  by  way  of  futile  experi 
ment  in  self-government,  Cuba  will  rightfully  remain  from 
this  time  forth  a  dependency  of  this  country.  By  the  recent 
treaty  with  San  Domingo,  we  have  assumed  responsibility 
for  the  control  of  that  portion  of  the  island  of  Hayti,  and  are 
regarded  by  the  world  as  guarantors  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Haytian  Republic.  By  the  narrowest  margin,  but  a  few 
years  ago,  we  failed  to  acquire  the  Danish  West  Indian 
Islands.  We  have  planted  our  flag  at  Panama  in  control 
of  the  great  interoceanic  canal,  and  there  we  shall  likewise 
remain.  In  brief,  it  may  be  asserted,  with  substantial  ac 
curacy,  that  we  have  assumed  the  direction  and  control 
of  the  islands  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  as  the  years  roll  on, 
the  extension  of  our  governmental  functions  to  the  mainland 
of  that  region  is  inevitable. 

Further  than  this,  in  the  Pacific  and  in  the  far  East,  at 
Hawaii  and  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  we  have  assumed  the 
regulation  of  great  numbers  of  alien  peoples.  As  they  suc 
cessively  become  dependencies  or  possessions  of  this  nation, 
their  demand  for  citizenship  will  be  advanced.  Hawaii 
sends  her  delegate  to  Congress  and  participates  in  political 
conventions.  Already  Porto  Rico  clamors  for  recognition 
as  a  part  of  our  domain,  and  demands  rights  of  citizenship 
which  cannot  logically  be  denied.  We  stammeringly  an 
swer,  deferring  decision,  well  knowing  that  the  character  of 
the  population  of  that  island  is  not  such  as  fits  it  for  citizen 
ship  in  this  progressive  nation. 

The  countries  mentioned  above  possess  a  population  of 
some  twelve  to  thirteen  million  souls,  and  if  allowed  repre- 


S32  The  Negro  Problem 

sentation  in  our  national  legislature,  would  be  entitled  to 
return  to  Congress  some  fifty  or  sixty  representatives.  This 
must  strike  the  reflective  mind  as  an  impossible  situation; 
and  yet  so  long  as  we  allow  the  African  the  precious  boon 
of  American  citizenship,  logically  we  are  in  no  position  to 
deny  it  to  the  better  equipped  population  of  our  dependen 
cies.  We  must  adopt  one  or  the  other  horn  of  the  dilemma; 
either  confine  our  citizenship  to  the  Caucasian  race  or  else 
subject  ourselves  to  the  perils  and  embarrassments  of  con 
ferring  it  generally  upon  those  alien  and  mongrel  peoples 
whom,  for  reasons  affecting  our  safety  and  prosperity,  it 
has  become  our  destiny  to  control. 

The  probabilities  are  that  the  eventual  political  relation 
of  the  islands  mentioned,  and  such  parts  of  the  adjacent 
mainland  as  our  interests  or  safety  may  demand  should  be 
brought  under  our  control,  will  be  that  of  autonomous 
dependencies.  They  will  be  accorded  such  measure  of 
political  freedom  as  their  development  may  justify,  but  will 
be  shielded  by  the  United  States  from  all  foreign  interference 
by  having  their  diplomatic  relations  conducted  and  their 
financial  affairs  supervised  by  our  government. 

The  decitizenization  of  the  negro,  effecting  his  elimination 
as  a  factor  in  our  national  life,  would  leave  us  immediately 
free  logically  to  deal  with  the  people  of  our  present  and  future 
dependencies,  and  to  frame  and  develop  for  them  some  ade 
quate  system  of  government  not  involving  their  elevation  to 
the  rank  of  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

The  foregoing  considerations  are  quite  exclusively  of  the 
material  order.  The  effect  of  the  adoption  and  successful 
The  Moral  execution  of  Lincoln's  plan  upon  the  nation's 
Uplift.  general  tone  of  thought  and  elevation  of  sentiment 
would  be  even  more  marked  than  its  influence  upon  its 
material  advancement.  By  the  successful  transportation 
of  the  race  to  Africa,  and  by  its  establishment  there  in 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation        533 

comfort  and  prosperity,  with  the  prospect  of  overcoming 
the  grave  obstacles  which  hitherto  have  prevented  the  intro 
duction  of  civilization  into  that  great  continent,  we  should 
establish  a  precedent  heretofore  unknown  in  the  annals 
of  the  peoples. 

The  prestige  gained  by  the  beneficent  performance  of  a 
duty  of  this  unprecedented  character  would  far  more  than 
repay  all  required  effort  and  expenditure.  If  in  the  coming 
years  we  are  to  have  augmented  consideration  as  a  factor  in 
the  civilization  of  the  world,  nothing  could  be  better  calcu 
lated  to  win  for  us  a  high  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  nations 
than  the  results  which  would  follow  the  successful  per 
formance  of  this  gigantic  task. 

Our  international  standing  would  be  tremendously  en 
hanced.  We  would  then  present  to  the  world  the  spectacle 
of  a  nation  fertile  to  design,  resolute  to  execute,  beneficent  of 
purpose,  and  successful  in  accomplishment.  We  would  at 
one  stroke  effect  the  deliverance  of  our  country  from  the 
menace  of  the  existence  of  this  alien  and  unassimilable  people, 
and  by  returning  them  to  their  native  soil  would  insure  the 
beginning  of  the  redemption  of  Africa,  and  the  introduction 
to  that  hitherto  benighted  land  of  the  hope  of  material 
prosperity  and  the  assurance  of  Christian  civilization. 

Assuming  that  forty  years  were  required  for  the  successful 
accomplishment  of  the  great  project,  at  the  close  of  that 
period  we  should  have  in  this  country  a  population  of  prob 
ably  140,000,000  persons  of  the  Caucasian  race.  In  the 
mean  while,  we  would  have  successfully  transported  to  the 
African  continent,  and  established  in  prosperous  circum 
stances,  a  people  whose  natural  increase  should  at  that  time 
bring  them  to  the  numbers  of  some  twenty  million,  and  who, 
if  possessed  of  capacity  for  progress,  would  by  that  time 
have  successfully  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  the  under 
taking.  Race  conflicts  would  have  ceased;  Atlanta  massa- 


534  The  Negro  Problem 

cres  would  be  a  thing  of  the  past;  we  should  have  within  our 
borders  no  despised  and  menial  race,  no  population  of  dis 
franchised  serfs;  we  would  be  able  to  regard  with  pride  our 
final  disposition  of  the  negro  question,  and  would  through 
this  righteous  solution  occupy  an  exalted  position  in  the  eyes 
of  foreign  nations.  Our  own  feeling  of  relief  would  be  a 
gratifying  result,  and  generations  of  the  African  race  would 
rise  up  and  call  us  blessed. 

Can  it  then  be  questioned  that  the  elevation  of  national 
sentiment  which  would  follow  the  successful  operation  of 
the  proposed  plan  would  far  more  than  outweigh  any  possible 
expense  and  difficulty  in  its  execution?  Consequences  of 
favorable  character,  not  now  foreseen,  would  follow  from 
the  settlement  of  this  vexing  question.  Those  indefinite 
and  imponderable  benefits  which  would  result  from  the 
clarifying  of  the  spirit  of  the  people,  would  be  found  of  greater 
value  to  the  nation  than  any  mere  material  prosperity  pro 
ceeding  from  the  retention  of  the  negro  among  us. 

All  right-thinking  men  must  feel  that  in  its  present  con 
dition  this  unsolved  problem  is  an  element  of  degradation 
to  our  national  character.  We  have  a  self-confessed  in 
capacity  to  deal  with  this  momentous  question.  We  shirk 
its  difficulties  and  endeavor,  ostrich-like,  to  ignore  its  ex 
istence  in  the  vain  hope  that  by  some  unforeseen  interpo 
sition  its  dangers  may  fortunately  pass  away.  The  thoughtful 
foreigner  appreciates  its  menacing  importance  and  com 
miserates  our  condition. 

In  his  philosophical  work  already  referred  to,  Professor 
H.  G.  Wells  expresses  his  appreciation  of  its  comparative 
importance,  as  contrasted  with  a  question  now  occupying 
the  attention  of  England,  in  the  following  manner:  After 
describing  his  discussion  of  the  subject  with  President 
Booker  T.  Washington,  in  which,  following  President 
Washington's  expression  of  his  belief  in  the  possibility  of 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation        535 

the  two   races  living  harmoniously  together  in  the  commu 
nity,  he  says: 

I  argued  strongly  against  the  view  he  seems  to  hold 
that  black  and  white  might  live  together,  mingling,  without 
injustice,  side  by  side.  That  I  do  not  believe. 

And  then  he  sums  up  his  final  impression  of  the  question, 
to  which  he  devotes  an  interesting  chapter  under  the  title 
of  The  Tragedy  of  Color,  as  follows: 

After  I  had  talked  to  him,  I  went  back  to  my  club  and 
found  there  an  English  newspaper  with  a  report  of  the 
opening  debate  upon  Mr.  Birrell's  Education  Bill.  It  was 
like  turning  from  the  discussion  of  life  and  death  to  a 
dispute  about  the  dregs  in  the  bottom  of  a  teacup  somebody 
had  neglected  to  wash  out  in  Victorian  times. 

To  one  who  wishes  to  arrive  at  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  aspect  in  which  this  negro  question  is  viewed  by  an 
imaginative  and  sympathetic  foreigner,  accustomed  to  re 
gard  social  questions  from  a  philosophic  standpoint,  this 
whole  chapter  in  The  Future  of  America  by  H.  G.  Wells  is 
respectfully  commended. 

Socially,  the  section  most  intimately  associated  with  the 
problem  would  at  once  regain  needed  courage  and  sanity. 
Politically,  we  should  at  once  rise  to  a  higher  plane,  con 
scious  that  the  all-provoking  cause  of  dissension  between 
discordant  sections  of  our  common  country  was  removed. 
Industrially,  North  and  South,  the  removal  of  the  menial  and 
the  strike-breaker  would  elevate  the  condition  of  all  workers, 
skilled  and  unskilled,  and  add  to  the  dignity  and  efficiency 
of  the  lower  and  less  desired  occupations.  The  unsatis 
factory  relations  of  the  sections  would  be  readjusted,  and 
the  South  restored  to  her  natural  relationship,  while  the 
North  would  be  freed  from  the  unworthy  attitude  of  placid 
submission  to  an  acknowledged  political  wrong.  The  tone 


S36  The  Negro  Problem 

and  temper  of  the  primary,  the  convention,  and  the  election 
booth  would  be  immediately  elevated  by  the  elimination  of  a 
vote  which  in  one  section  has  always  been  associated  with 
corruption,  and  in  another  with  suppression,  either  by  fraud 
or  violence. 

To  accomplish  these  results,  to  bring  about  this  elevation 
in  the  national  thought,  to  remove  the  evils  attendant  upon 
the  presence  of  the  negro  race,  would  far  more  than  com 
pensate  us  for  the  outlay  of  $100,000,000  a  year  for  a  few 
passing  years.  Indeed,  such  a  sum  would  be  an  insignifi 
cant  amount  to  pay  for  the  securing  of  the  material  benefits, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  advantages  of  a  moral  character,  which 
would  necessarily  follow  the  removal  of  the  negro. 

The  insurance  statistics  for  the  year  1906  recently  pub 
lished  show  that  the  old-line  insurance  companies  in  this 
country  received  during  the  year  premiums  to  the  amount 
of  $526,000,000.  Would  not  one-fifth  of  this  sum,  annually 
set  apart  as  an  insurance  to  the  nation  against  the  present 
and  prospective  evils  attendant  upon  the  presence  of  the 
African  race,  be  considered  as  an  exceedingly  profitable 
business  transaction? 

In  one  of  his  public  addresses,  the  late  John  Hay  ex 
pressed  the  sentiment  that  in  this  country  nothing  could  long 
endure  which  was  at  once  wrong  and  unprofitable.  The 
remark  has  a  cynical  flavor,  but  expresses  in  a  blunt  way 
that  combination  of  righteous  purpose  and  the  expectation 
of  material  benefit  which  form  a  resultant  of  effectual  effort 
among  the  American  people.  All  thinking  minds  concede 
that  the  present  condition  of  the  negro  race,  North  and 
South,  is  unsatisfactory,  and  that  the  treatment  to  which  its 
members  are  of  necessity  subjected  is  wrong  when  judged 
from  any  respectable  ethical  standard. 

In  like  manner,  it  has  been  made  equally  clear  in  the 
foregoing  pages  that  neither  to  the  North  nor  the  South  is 


The  Regeneration  of  the  Nation        537 

the  presence  of  the  negro  a  profitable  asset  in  our  national 
economy.  This  wrongful  condition  conflicts  with  our 
economic  development  and  retards  our  moral  progress.  Like 
the  slavery  of  antiquity,  it  debases  all  moral  standards,  and 
counteracts  every  effort  toward  advancement  in  Christian 
civilization. 

Could  we  but  enlarge  our  imagination  to  behold  the  nation 
as  it  might  be,  unified,  expanded  in  spirit,  and  regenerated 
by  the  adoption  of  Lincoln's  solution  of  the  negro  problem: 
a  nation  freed  from  the  ignoble  necessity  of  daily  self-decep 
tion  and  futile  hypocrisy;  a  nation  existing  in  the  broadest 
and  noblest  sense  as  a  white  man's  country;  could  we  but 
regard  these  possibilities  as  they  shaped  themselves  to  the 
prophetic  eye  of  that  master  student  of  the  negro  question, 
we  would  consider  no  effort  too  arduous,  and  no  outlay  too 
extravagant,  which  bore  the  promise  in  the  end  of  emanci 
pating  our  country  from  the  evils  resulting  from  the  African 
element  in  our  population. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ELEMENTS  OF  AMERICAN  CITIZENSHIP 

A  democracy,  to  be  a  success, — and  we  are  trying  it  here  on  a 
hitherto  unprecedented  scale, — depends  on  the  intelligence  of 
the  average  citizen.  Wherever  civic  intelligence  and  initiative 
are  low,  democracy  becomes  impossible,  and  an  oligarchy  or 
an  empire  takes  its  place.  The  United  States  has  had  to  suffer 
and  is  still  suffering  untold  miseries  from  the  reckless  intro 
duction,  for  purposes  of  material  gain,  of  an  alien  people,  to 
wit, — the  African  negro.  The  same  arguments  were  used 
for  the  admission  of  negro  slaves  that  are  now  used  for  the 
admission  of  the  cheapest  European  and  Asiatic  labor.  Wher 
ever  a  superior  and  an  inferior  race  are  brought  together,  one 
must  rule;  and  one  will  withdraw  itself,  socially  and  politically, 
from  the  other.  When  this  happens,  universal  democracy 
ceases  to  exist,  and  no  amount  of  preaching  the  rights  of  men 
or  any  other  theoretical  considerations  will  modify  the  result. 
This  result  has  already  happened  in  the  South;  and  in  the 
North  society  is  beginning  to  experience  a  social  stratification 
which  is  breaking  up  its  former  homogeneity,  and  which 
is  affecting  profoundly  the  matter  of  race  survival. — PRES- 
COTT  F.  HALL,  Immigration,  p.  176. 

IN  the  development  of  his  plan  for  the  solution  of  the  negro 
problem,  Abraham  Lincoln  saw  with  unclouded  vision 
the  effect  upon  the  other  great  questions  awaiting  future  ad 
justment  in  American  citizenship,  of  the  presence  of  the  alien 
negro  element  in  our  national  life.  In  his  elaborate  argu 
ment  upon  this  subject  addressed  through  Congress  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States  in  his  annual  message  of  De 
cember  i,  1862,  to  be  found  in  his  published  works  (vol. 
ii.,  p.  261),  he  says  (p.  275): 

538 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship      539 

With  deportation,  even  to  a  limited  extent,  enhanced 
wages  to  white  labor  is  mathematically  certain.  Labor 
is  like  any  other  commodity  in  the  market, — increase  the 
demand  for  it  and  you  increase  the  price  of  it.  Reduce 
the  supply  of  black  labor  by  colonizing  the  black  laborer 
out  of  the  country,  and  by  precisely  so  much  you  increase 
the  demand  for,  and  wages  of,  white  labor. 

Throughout  his  published  state  papers,  in  all  references 
to  his  proposed  solution,  we  find  an  intense  appreciation 
of  the  influence  which  the  presence  of  the  negro  race  was  to 
exert  upon  the  future  character  and  standard  of  American 
citizenship.  Always  earnest  in  his  encouragement  of  the 
immigration  of  those  qualified  to  assume  the  duties  and  re 
sponsibilities  of  membership  in  our  national  household,  he 
nevertheless  recognized  that  the  presence  of  the  negro  exerted 
an  unfortunate  interference  with  the  symmetrical  development 
of  the  sections  of  the  country  and  with  the  natural  expansion 
of  our  territorial  area. 

Now,  as  then,  the  question  of  immigration  is  one  of  the 
deepest  national  concern.  It  not  merely  involves  our  present 
safety  and  prosperity,  but  is  to  shape  the  char- 
tion  and  the  acter  of  the  generations  which  are  to  follow  us. 
As  we  deal  with  it  wisely  or  foolishly  will  be 
determined  the  ultimate  traits  of  the  great  composite  race 
which  is  now  in  process  of  development  in  the  United  States. 
With  this  aspect  of  the  problem  of  immigration,  the  presence 
of  the  negro  is  inseparably  connected,  and  the  influence  of 
the  existence  of  ten  million  people  of  the  African  race  in  the 
country  has  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  a  very  important 
factor  in  moulding  the  character  of  our  future  citizenship. 

Few  nations,  either  in  the  past  or  present,  can  be  said  to 
be  constituted  by  people  even  approximating  a  pure  racial 
type.  All  have  been  more  or  less  the  result  of  the  fusion  of 
various  diverse  elements,  and  even  when  originally  of  a  high 


540  The  Negro  Problem 

degree  of  racial  purity,  the  subsequent  introduction  of  foreign 
elements  has  always  radically  modified  the  primitive  stock. 

Of  the  prominent  nations  of  the  present  day,  England  is 
perhaps  the  best  representative  of  a  thoroughly  composite 
people.  "Saxon  or  Dane  or  Norman  we,  Teuton  or  Celt 
or  whatever  we  be,"  sang  Tennyson  of  the  English  nation. 
He  might  have  gone  further  in  his  ethnological  study  and 
pointed  out  that  the  present  Englishman  is  the  result  of  the 
crossing  of  many  different  racial  stocks,  almost  every  nation 
ality  of  Europe  being  included  in  the  blending  which  has 
produced  the  distinctive  type  of  English  national  character. 

France  presents  a  substantially  homogeneous  population 
at  the  present  time.  It  requires,  however,  but  the  slightest 
historical  investigation  to  ascertain  that  in  the  composition 
of  the  typical  Frenchman  are  included  Celtic,  Latin,  and 
Germanic  strains  of  blood,  long  since  inseparably  com 
mingled.  In  a  somewhat  less  degree  this  may  also  be 
asserted  of  the  German  and  Italian  peoples.  Through 
the  long  centuries  of  migrations,  voluntary  and  involuntary, 
of  the  various  elements  of  European  population,  has  come 
about  the  solidification  of  certain  national  traits,  giving  to 
each  of  the  more  important  nations  its  distinctive  character. 

We  are  now  engaged  in  the  serious  work  of  shaping  the 
character  of  our  future  national  population,  the  quality  of 
which  is  already  fairly  well  determined,  as  the  American 
type  has  become  clearly  differentiated  from  those  of  the  other 
nations  of  the  world.  From  present  prospects  within  the 
next  few  decades  the  general  substantial  characteristics  of 
the  citizenship  of  the  nation  are  certain  to  be  decidedly 
modified  by  the  influx  of  illiterate  and  physically  defective 
immigrants  from  Eastern  Europe.  It,  therefore,  becomes  us 
to  pay  especial  heed  to  the  selection  of  the  elements  which 
are  to  enter  into  the  finished  product  of  our  nation-making 
experiment. 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship      541 

The  history  of  our  country  is  the  history  of  immigrants 
and  immigration.     Prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  inde 

pendence  of  the   country   the   colonization   had 
Character     ..  ,  „      . 

of  Early      been  of  a  generally  homogeneous  character,  the 


greater  proportion  of  the  colonists  being  made 
up  of  men  of  English  blood,  with  some  consider 
able  additions  of  Irish  and  Scotch  and  a  slight  dash  of  French 
Huguenots.  In  New  York  there  remained  a  strong  element 
formed  by  the  descendants  of  the  early  Dutch  settlers,  and 
in  Pennsylvania  a  considerable  infusion  of  German  blood 
lent  variety  to  the  character  of  the  population. 

The  general  character  of  these  colonists  is  well  known. 
By  force  of  the  circumstances  surrounding  their  coming,  they 
were  of  the  hardy  and  enterprising  breed.  The  difficulties 
of  transportation,  the  hardships  and  dangers  awaiting  the 
newcomers,  conflicts  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  and 
the  arduous  task  of  surmounting  the  obstacles  interposed  by 
nature,  rendered  our  forefathers  in  every  respect  a  people 
of  remarkable  qualities  of  mind  and  body.  The  exceptions 
to  this  high  standard  of  character  and  ability  were  few  and 
inconsiderable.  Some  criminals  had  been  shipped  from  the 
mother  country  to  the  colonies,  but  with  this  exception  and, 
of  course,  the  further  exception  arising  from  the  importation 
of  negro  slaves,  the  men  who  came  forward  with  patriotic 
fervor  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  to  establish  their  liberties 
were  of  a  high  order  of  mental  and  physical  qualifications. 

For  the  half-century  succeeding  the  establishment  of  the 
government,  there  was  comparatively  little  immigration 
to  the  country.  The  few  immigrants  arriving  were  of  the 
same  general  ethnic  character  as  the  original  colonists, 
coming  principally  from  the  British  Isles.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
assume  that  the  original  policy  of  the  founders  of  the  govern 
ment  of  this  nation  was  that  of  throwing  its  doors  open 
to  the  oppressed  of  all  nations,  and  of  admitting  without 


542  The  Negro  Problem 

restriction  all  persons  desiring  to  take  advantage  of  our  newly 
created  institutions.  From  the  very  foundation  of  the 
government  there  has  existed  strong  opposition  to  the  ad 
mission  of  alien  foreigners,  and  the  privilege  of  citizenship 
was,  in  the  early  days,  as  a  rule,  carefully  guarded. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  American  people  have  always  been 
ready  to  welcome  the  politically  oppressed  from  other  lands 
and  to  afford  an  asylum  of  liberty  to  all  worthy  men  and 
women  seeking  refuge  from  tyrannical  conditions,  it  was  never 
the  intention  to  invite  the  evil  consequences  certain  to  follow 
the  introduction  of  an  increasing  flood  of  undesirable  and 
unassimilable  elements. 

Washington  is  on  record  as  doubting  the  advisability  of 
a  policy  of  encouraging  immigration,  and  Jefferson,  although 
in  full  sympathy  with  the  efforts  of  other  peoples  to  achieve 
a  larger  degree  of  freedom,  expressed  his  wish  that  an  ocean 
of  fire  might  be  interposed  between  this  country  and  Europe, 
so  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  any  more  immigrants  to 
come  hither.  There  never  has  been  a  time  in  the  history 
of  the  country  when  a  large  proportion  of  its  thoughtful 
people  were  not  keenly  alive  to  the  evils  following  unrestricted 
immigration,  and  anxious  to  prevent  the  land  from  being 
inundated  by  the  outcasts  of  other  nations. 

Before  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  the  failure  of  the 
potato  crop  in  Ireland,  and  the  downfall  of  the  revolutionary 
movement  of  1847-8  throughout  Europe,  brought  about  a 
much  increased  immigration,  mainly  of  a  character  markedly 
inferior  to  that  which  had  hitherto  taken  place.  These 
immigrants  introduced  new  and  lower  standards  of  living 
and  of  thought,  and  as  they  were  principally  of  a  lower  grade 
of  intelligence,  and  many  of  them  unfamiliar  with  the  lan 
guage  of  the  country,  their  coming  aroused  the  most  intense 
antagonism.  This  awakened  opposition  to  unrestricted 
immigration  resulted,  in  the  year  1854,  in  the  formation  of 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship     543 

the  Know-Nothing  party,  whose  purpose  was  rigidly  to  re 
strict  immigration,  and  so  far  as  possible  to  preserve  the 
country  for  those  then  in  occupancy  and  their  descendants. 
The  illiberal  creed  of  this  organization  did  not  commend 
itself  to  the  wiser  minds  of  the  time,  and  while  in  the  elections 
of  that  year  and  the  next  it  gained  some  notable  successes, 
it  had  but  an  ephemeral  existence,  and,  with  all  other  minor 
questions,  the  effort  to  exclude  foreigners  was  quickly  for 
gotten  in  the  stress  of  the  great  Civil  War,  resulting  from 
the  efforts  to  restrict  the  spread  of  the  negro  throughout  the 
territories.  During  the  war  time  Lincoln  sagaciously  pro 
moted  immigration,  and  the  sturdy  newcomers  from  Ireland 
and  Germany  contributed  largely  to  keep  the  ranks  of  the 
Northern  armies  full. 

From  that  time  to  the  present,  what  little  opposition  there 
has  been  to  immigration  has  been  directed  more  to  the 
establishment  of  restrictions  based  upon  quality  than  to  the 
complete  exclusion  of  any  class  of  would-be  immigrants. 
With  the  exception  of  the  exclusion  by  statute  of  the  Chi 
nese,  and  the  recent  agreement  with  Japan  to  restrict  the 
entrance  of  her  subjects,  who  have  always  been  in  a  meas 
ure  regarded  as  undesirable  acquisitions  to  our  national 
family,  no  barrier  of  a  distinctively  racial  character  has 
been  erected. 

It  is  commonly  assumed  that  the  rapid  increase  in  the 
numbers  of  the  population  of  the  United  States  as  shown 
Statistics  ^v  each  decennial  census  has  been  almost  entirely 
of  Immi-  due  to  the  great  volume  of  immigration  coming 
to  our  shores.  That  such  is  not  the  fact  indis 
putably  appears  when  we  proceed  to  examine  the  statistics 
of  immigration  for  the  different  decades.  Prior  to  the  year 
1820,  during  which  for  the  first  time  the  number  of  immi 
grants  coming  to  the  country  was  made  a  subject  of  statistical 
investigation,  immigration  was  of  only  the  slightest  conse- 


544  The  Negro  Problem 

quence,  the  newcomers  certainly  numbering  not   more  than 
from  five  to  ten  thousand  a  year. 

The  statistics  following  the  year  1820  to  date  are  as  follows: 

TABLE  I 

IMMIGRATION   BY  DECADES,    1821    TO    1908. 

1821  to  1830 143,439 

1831  to  1840 599,125 

1841  to  1850.. 1,713,251 

1851  to  1860 2,598,214 

1861  to  1870 2,314,824 

1871  to  1880 2,812,191 

1881  to  1890 5,246,613 

1891  to  1900 3,687,564 

1901  to  1908  (eight  years) 7,001,940 

The  following  table  displays  the  rapid  increase  during  the 
past  decade: 

TABLE  II 

1899 311,715 

1900 448,572 

1901 487,918 

I902 648,743 

i9°3 857,046 

1904 812,870 

1905 1,026,049 

1906 1,100,735 

1907 1,285,349 

1908 782,970 

It  clearly  appears  from  an  examination  of  the  census 
records  that  up  to  the  time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
War  the  population  of  the  country  had  exhibited  a  very  even 
and  regular  ratio  of  increase.  With  all  the  immigration  of 
the  period  from  1840  to  1860,  the  former  ratio  of  increase 
had  not  been  exceeded.  Those  who  have  given  the  subject 
the  most  careful  examination  have  reached  the  conclusion 
that  had  this  immigration  not  taken  place  the  population 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship     545 

by  natural  increase  would  have  shown  quite  as  rapid  an 
augmentation. 

General  Francis  A.  Walker,  Superintendent  of  the  Tenth 
and  Eleventh  censuses  of  the  United  States,  gave  to  this 
subject  careful  examination,  and  drew  from  his  studies  the 
conclusion  that  as  the  increase  in  population  resulting  from 
immigration  up  to  1845  was  very  slight,  in  fact,  almost  in 
considerable,  the  population  would  have  increased  in  an 
even  greater  ratio  in  the  next  succeeding  decades  had  no 
immigration  whatever  occurred.  His  conclusion,  based  on 
extended  experience  and  profound  reasoning,  is,  that  at  that 
period  the  physical  and  mental  qualifications  of  the  American 
race  were  at  a  high  point;  that  it  was  rapidly  reproducing 
itself  as  it  spread  throughout  the  country;  that  the  result 
of  the  succeeding  immigration  was  simply  to  reduce  the 
standard  of  living,  and  that  the  inevitable  result  of  the  intro 
duction  of  a  prolific  foreign  element  was  the  decline  of  the 
birth-rate  of  the  native  population,  due  to  the  working  of  a 
principle  which  has  been  felicitously  termed  the  "  Concen 
tration  of  Advantages." 

By  this  phrase  is  meant  that  as  the  immigrants  from  Ire 
land  and  Germany  who  came  in  the  forties  and  fifties  grad 
ually  supplanted  the  native  population  of  the  Eastern  States 
in  agricultural  and  manufacturing  operations,  and  introduced 
a  different  and  inferior  standard  of  manners  and  living,  the 
latter,  rising  in  the  scale  of  luxury  and  ease,  and  confining 
themselves  more  strictly  to  the  more  lucrative  occupations 
into  which  the  immigrants  had  not  entered,  adopted 
habits  of  life  resulting  in  an  abstention  from  marriage  or  its 
postponement  until  later  in  life,  and  further  in  the  voluntary 
limitation  of  the  number  of  children.  Unwilling  to  abase 
their  standard  of  living  to  meet  the  competition  of  the  new 
comers,  they  chose  to  limit  their  responsibilities  of  parenthood 
and  to  concentrate  on  a  few  children  the  attention  and 

35 


546  The  Negro  Problem 

care  that  former  conditions  had  allowed  them  to  devote  to 
many. 

This  condition  of  affairs  has  continued  with  constantly 
accelerated  effect.  As  each  stratum  of  immigrants,  repre 
senting  a  lower  standard  of  comfort,  intellect,  and  prosperity, 
has  come  into  the  country,  it  has  entered  as  a  wedge  at  the 
bottom  of  the  social  structure,  lifting  in  turn  the  strata  above, 
until,  as  this  uplifting  continues,  marriages  among  the  na 
tive  population  become  correspondingly  infrequent  and  the 
birth-rate  constantly  decreases.  At  the  present  time  statistics 
show  that  among  the  population  which,  strictly  speaking, 
might  be  regarded  as  native,  namely,  those  persons  of  mar 
riageable  age  whose  grandparents  were  natives  of  the  country, 
the  birth-rate  is  not  sufficient  to  even  maintain  the  present 
numbers. 

Look  about  you,  if  you  please,  for  a  moment,  and  ascertain 
what  proportion  of  your  friends  and  acquaintances  who 
occupy  positions  of  standing  in  the  community  and  who  are, 
according  to  the  above  definition,  members  of  the  native 
population,  in  the  first  place,  remain  unmarried,  and  secondly, 
of  the  married  how  few  have  more  than  two  children,  just 
sufficient  to  maintain  the  present  numbers  of  population. 
The  universal  result  of  such  a  computation  will  be  the  de 
velopment  of  an  astonishing  condition  of  infecundity.  A 
few  statistics  upon  the  subject  are  presented. 

Professor  Walter  F.  Wilcox,  of  Cornell  University,  from 
a  study  of  the  Census  of  1900,  draws  the  conclusion  that  the 
native  birth-rate  is  rapidly  falling.  He  finds  that  at  that 
time  the  number  of  native  white  children  under  five  years 
of  age,  in  proportion  to  each  1000  women  15  to  44  years  of 
age,  was  as  follows:  For  cities  of  25,000  or  more  inhabitants, 
native  mothers,  296,  foreign  mothers,  612;  for  smaller  cities 
and  the  country  districts,  native  mothers,  522,  foreign 
mothers,  841.  As  this  reckoning  includes  the  children  of 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship     547 

comparatively  recent  immigrants,  the  showing  is  somewhat 
startling. 

The  report  of  President  Eliot  of  Harvard  University  for  1902 
goes  into  the  subject  with  care.  He  shows  that  out  of  88 1 
graduates  of  the  classes  1872  to  1877,  inclusive,  634  were 
married  and  had  surviving  1282  children,  and  247  remained 
unmarried.  The  only  possible  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from 
his  investigations  is  that  the  class  from  which  these  graduates 
were  drawn  for  some  reason  fails  to  perpetuate  itself. 

Similar  investigations  conducted  at  other  institutions  of 
learning  reveal  even  more  astonishing  conditions  of  infecund- 
ity  among  the  graduates. 

Contrast  this  state  of  affairs,  if  you  will,  with  the  condition 
which  prevailed  throughout  the  country  three-quarters  of 
a  century  ago, — from  Revolutionary  days  down  to  the  out 
break  of  the  Civil  War, — large  families  among  the  New 
Englanders  and  in  other  sections  of  the  country  being  the 
rule,  and  small  ones  the  exception.,  From  the  very  beginning 
of  our  history  until  the  swelling  tide  of  immigration  inun 
dated  the  country,  the  native  stock  was  as  fruitful  as  the 
Israelites  of  old  who  multiplied  and  replenished  the  land. 
Benjamin  Franklin  was  the  fifteenth  of  a  family  of  seventeen; 
Thomas  Jefferson  the  third  of  a  family  of  eight;  Daniel 
Webster  the  ninth  of  a  family  of  ten;  Henry  Clay  the  seventh 
of  a  family  of  eight;  Henry  Ward  Beecher  the  eighth  of  a 
family  of  thirteen.  Great  Jonathan  Edwards  was  the 
thirteenth  child  of  his  parents;  Charles  Sumner  the  oldest 
of  a  family  of  nine.  Consider  the  Beechers,  the  Fields,  the 
Washburnes,  and  hundreds  of  other  families  that  might  be 
mentioned,  where  the  numbers  were  great  and  the  quality 
high,  and  we  see  by  contrast  with  present  conditions  what 
a  change  has  come  over  the  character  of  our  population  in  this 
regard. 

There  recently  died  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  a  dis- 


548  The  Negro  Problem 

tinguished  clergyman,  the  Reverend  Leonard  Woolsey  Bacon, 
the  fourteenth  child  of  his  distinguished  father,  who,  in  turn, 
was  also  the  fourteenth  child  in  his  father's  family. 

So  there  is  sufficient  warrant  for  the  statement  that  the 
introduction  of  the  immigrant  has  not  been,  strictly  speaking, 
an  addition  to  the  native  population,  but  rather  a  displace 
ment.  Lincoln's  estimate  of  the  growth  of  population, 
contained  in  his  annual  message  of  1862,  was  based  upon 
the  theory  that  the  increase  of  the  native  population  would 
continue,  and  in  the  degree  that  our  actual  numbers  have 
fallen  short  of  his  conjecture  it  may  be  attributed  to  two 
causes,  which  he  did  not  take  into  consideration.  First, 
the  increasing  sterility  of  the  native  population,  arising  from 
the  causes  just  discussed,  and  secondly,  the  effect  of  the 
destruction  by  wounds  or  disease  of  over  a  million  of  the  most 
vigorous  young  men  of  the  country  who  fell  on  both  sides 
during  the  Civil  War,  resulting  in  a  tremendous  impairment 
of  the  virility  of  the  nation  which  has  never  yet  been,  and  prob 
ably  never  will  be,  completely  made  good. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  the  character  of  the  im 
migration  during  the  past  three  decades  has  been  of  a 
markedly  inferior  character  to  that  prior  to  the  year  1880. 
This  cannot  be  better  stated  than  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Allan 
McLaughlin  to  be  found  in  an  article  in  the  Popular  Science 
Monthly,  vol.  Ixiv.,  page  233,  January,  1904,  where  he 
says: 

Good  physique  was  much  more  general  among  immi 
grants  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  than  among  the  immi 
grants  of  to-day.  The  bulk  of  the  immigrants  previous 
to  1880  came  from  the  sturdy  races  of  northern  and  west 
ern  Europe,  and  not  only  was  good  physique  the  rule, 
but  loathsome,  communicable  or  contagious  disease  was 
extremely  rare.  .  .  .  With  the  change  in  the  racial  char 
acter  of  immigration,  most  marked  in  the  past  decade,  a 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship     549 

pronounced  deterioration  in  the  general  physique  of  the 
immigrants,  and  a  much  higher  per  cent,  of  dangerous 
disease  is  noticeable.  .  .  .  The  immigrant  recorded  as 
having  a  poor  physique  is  usually  admitted. 


The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  our  early  immigration  was 
almost  entirely  of  the  best  element  of  the  countries  whence 

it  came,  which  countries  in  themselves  were  sub- 
Character 
of  Recent    stantially  those  whose  ambitious  spirits  had  es- 

tiorf igra"  tablished  the  colonies,  and  that  up  to  the  time  of 
the  Civil  War  our  population  was  essentially 
of  a  homogeneous  character.  Since  that  period  the  char 
acter  of  our  immigration  has  radically  changed  in  its  racial 
qualities.  Both  as  to  race  origin  and  individual  qualifi 
cations,  a  markedly  inferior  element  has  been  introduced, 
and  the  time  has  now  arrived  when  in  the  interests  of  the 
production  of  a  high  order  of  American  citizenship  the 
standard  of  admission  applicable  to  all  immigrants  should 
be  greatly  elevated  and  reasonable  restrictions  based  upon 
race  distinctions  adopted. 

Every  element  of  value  in  the  country  demands  that  this 
be  done.  The  observant  American  who  goes  abroad  and 
travels  through  the  prosperous  countries  of  western  Europe 
is  struck  by  the  high  degree  of  comfort  and  prosperity  enjoyed 
by  the  working  classes.  He  wonders  whence  comes  this 
undisciplined  horde  of  immigrants  to  our  shores.  They  in 
no  manner  resemble  the  people  whom  he  has  seen  engaged 
in  their  vocations  on  his  travels,  and  he  is  unfamiliar  with 
the  fact  that  this  immigration,  differing  from  that  of  the  earlier 
period,  is  not  a  natural  migration  of  the  more  enterprising 
spirits  of  the  nations  of  Europe  to  our  favored  country,  but  is 
rather  composed  of  the  dregs  and  incompetents  of  the  re 
spective  countries,  whose  removal  is  at  once  a  favored  method 
of  relieving  their  native  country  from  their  support,  and  a 


55°  The  Negro  Problem 

source  of  commercial  advantage  to  the  steamship  companies 
engaged  in  their  transportation. 

This  should  be  thoroughly  understood  by  all,  and  in  like 
manner,  the  restrictions  which  have  been  imposed  upon 
the  immigration  to  this  country  of  the  unassimilable  Chinese 
and  Japanese  races  should  be  rigidly  maintained.  Great 
credit  is  due  to  the  foresight  of  the  labor  unions  in  insisting 
upon  the  provisions  of  the  Contract  Labor  Law,  which  pre 
vents  the  importation  of  what  is  known  as  "cheap  labor" 
into  this  country.  Our  people  are  beginning  to  realize  the  fact 
that  in  this  matter  of  immigration  quality  and  not  quantity 
is  what  should  be  insisted  upon,  and  that  the  reprehensible 
result  of  the  indiscriminate  welcome  of  the  lower  class  of 
people  of  other  lands  to  citizenship  in  this  country  will  be 
the  degradation  of  our  national  character  and  the  serious 
impairment  of  our  material  prosperity. 

It  is  true  that  there  are  now,  as  there  always  have  been  in 

this  country,  those  who  present  the  argument  that  the  United 

States  has  need  of  a  constant  supply  of  what  is 

Demand  for  called  "cheap  labor."     They  confidently  assert 

Labor/?       ^at  *n  or<^er  to  assure  our  steady  advancement 

in  the  path  of  commercial  greatness  we  must  have 

always  at  hand  a  servile,  unambitious,  plodding  class  of 

people,  who  may  be  compelled  to  do  the  rough,  hard  work 

of  the  country  at  small  wages,  and  who  are  willing  to  exist 

upon  a  cheap  scale  of  living. 

The  African  was  the  first  race  to  be  brought  to  the  country 
under  the  operation  of  this  theory,  and  the  result  of  the  intro 
duction  of  the  negro  race,  as  set  forth  in  the  preceding  pages 
of  this  volume,  cannot  be  regarded  as  forming  a  satisfactory 
precedent  for  further  experiments  in  this  direction. 

Following  the  negro,  the  Chinaman  was  looked  upon  in 
some  sections  as  affording,  by  coolie  labor,  the  necessary  cheap 
but  effective  working  element  to  bring  about  this  result,  but 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship     551 

wise  legislation  soon  checked  this  menace  to  our  civilization. 
At  the  present  time  the  favor  with  which  Japanese  immigra 
tion  is  urged  by  some  theorists  upon  the  subject  unfamiliar 
with  the  characteristics  of  the  Mongolian  race,  as  well  as  the 
effort  to  bring  in  from  the  pestilential  quarters  of  eastern 
Europe  a  class  of  low-living  immigrants  to  be  exploited  in 
the  sweat-shop  or  in  the  coal  mine,  sufficiently  indicate  the 
attitude  of  those  who  urge  the  necessity  for  cheap  labor. 

We  have,  unfortunately,  among  us  some  few  men  engaged 
in  manufacturing,  mining,  or  other  commercial  enterprises 
who  would  not  be  averse  to  flooding  the  country  with  a 
stream  of  illiterate  Poles,  Turks,  Syrians,  Arabs,  and  South 
Russian  peasants,  if  thereby  the  expense  of  labor  in  their 
respective  industries  could  be  decreased.  For  a  mess  of 
immediate  pottage  they  would  barter  away  the  birthright 
of  succeeding  generations. 

In  a  recent  newspaper  article,  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft,  the 
historian  of  California,  restates  the  old  argument  in  favor 
of  introducing  Chinese  and  Japanese  labor  throughout  the 
country.  He  argues  that  the  comforts  of  civilization  and 
the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  country  depend  upon  the 
existence  of  a  low  grade  of  laboring  population.  And  fol 
lowing  his  article,  newspaper  comment  indicates  that  his 
views  have  quite  wide  acceptation. 

Those  of  the  older  generation  will  remember  the  prediction 
of  the  late  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  made  some  thirty  years  ago, 
in  deprecating  the  advanced  general  education  of  young 
people  of  both  sexes,  to  the  effect  that  the  educational  ad 
vantages  then  offered  were  sufficient,  as  in  the  future  the 
country  would  need  a  helot  class  rather  than  such  an  ad 
dition  of  specially  educated  citizens.  The  sting  of  the  famous 
Morey  letter,  which  caused  General  Garfield  the  loss  of  the 
electoral  vote  of  the  Pacific  slope  in  1880,  and  which  seriously 
menaced  his  prospects  of  election,  lay  in  its  expression  of 


552  The  Negro  Problem 

sentiments  favoring  the  introduction  of  Chinese  cheap  labor, 
which,  if  not  those  of  its  reputed  author,  were  certainly 
entertained  by  many  of  the  strongest  interests  supporting 
his  candidacy. 

With  this  view  of  the  necessity  for  a  cheap  labor  element 
of  practically  disfranchised  citizens,  no  enlightened  person, 
proud  of  the  beneficent  effect  of  our  institutions,  and  hopeful 
of  the  part  which  this  country  is  destined  to  play  in  the  coming 
advancement  of  humanity,  can  be  in  sympathy.  The  nation 
is  even  now  beginning  to  awake  to  the  danger  and  deteriora 
tion  which  lie  in  unrestricted  immigration,  and  the  present 
Congress  has  recognized  this  trend  of  public  opinion  by 
adopting  amendments  to  the  Immigration  Law  which  prom 
ise  to  be  of  considerable  value  in  debarring  undesirable 
elements  from  entrance. 

Not  only  this,  but  the  National  Commission,  appointed 
under  the  Immigration  Act  passed  by  Congress  February 
27,  1907,  has  made  a  careful  investigation  of  conditions 
existing  in  the  countries  whence  this  immigration  is  mainly 
derived,  and  its  findings  and  recommendations  soon  to  be 
presented  to  Congress  will  doubtless  be  used  as  a  basis  for 
future  restrictive  legislation  upon  the  subject.  No  result 
other  than  that  of  a  recommendation  for  more  stringent 
restriction  can  be  expected.  It  would  be  well  for  the  nation 
if  the  immigration  which  for  the  past  four  years  has  averaged 
upward  of  1,000,000  were  reduced  one-half  by  intelligently 
administered  regulations  as  to  race  and  quality,  as  the  remain 
ing  500,000,  being  of  more  desirable  character,  would  be  a 
valuable  acquisition  to  the  country,  and  would  be  quite  as 
many  as  can  be  assimilated  by  the  present  population  in 
its  fluctuating  condition. 

But  so  long  as  the  negro  remains  a  constituent  part  of  our 
citizenship,  and  so  long  as  his  cheap  and  ineffective  labor 
is  at  hand  to  be  utilized  by  those  desiring  the  introduction 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship     553 

of  cheap  labor,  so  long  as  recourse  to  him  as  a  strike-breaker 
is  to  be  had  in  every  recurring  trouble  affecting  unskilled 
labor,  so  long  can  we  present  no  logical  argument  for  the 
exclusion  of  any  class  of  undesirable  European  or  Asiatic 
immigration. 

Deplorable  as  is  the  result  to  our  Eastern  cities  of  the 
introduction  of  the  undesirable  population  of  eastern  Europe, 
still  more  deplorable  would  be  the  introduction  of  Japanese 
or  Chinese  laborers  in  large  numbers  into  the  country,  and 
yet  more  deplorable  is  the  retention  of  the  negro,  against 
whom  there  exists  a  more  violent  racial  aversion,  and  who 
labors  under  far  greater  disadvantages  in  attempting  to  ad 
vance  himself  than  either  of  the  other  two  elements  under 
discussion.  For,  however  undesirable  he  may  be,  the 
European  immigrant,  arriving  with  his  family,  will  in  some 
way,  before  many  generations,  effect  a  complete  assimi 
lation  with  those  who  preceded  him  across  the  ocean.  The 
assimilation  may  reduce  the  average  quality  of  our  citizen 
ship,  but  it  will  be  at  least  complete. 

The  inevitable  result  of  a  continuance  of  our  present  in 
difference  as  to  quality  will  be  a  lowering  of  our  standard 
of  citizenship.  We  see  it  daily  in  our  lessened  respect  for 
Sunday  observance,  in  cunningly  conceived  efforts  for  the 
evasion  of  salutary  laws,  in  the  unfair  competition  in  business, 
and  especially  in  the  establishment  of  the  sweat-shop  and  in 
the  working  of  little  children  in  factories  and  mining  opera 
tions.  But  even  with  all  these  drawbacks,  the  assimilation, 
injurious  though  it  may  be,  would  result  in  but  one  class  of 
citizenship. 

The  Japanese  and  Chinese  laborer,  if  allowed  to  come 
here,  brings  with  him  no  family  and  effects  no  permanent 
result  of  advantage  in  the  community;  a  mere  bird  of  passage, 
he  comes  and  goes,  taking  from  the  country  his  earnings, 
but  leaving  some  valuable  results  of  his  labors.  But,  as 


554  The  Negro  Problem 

already  stated,  no  effectual  restriction  of  the  benefits  of  our 
citizenship  can  be  logically  enforced  so  long  as  the  argument 
may  be  advanced  that  if  the  negro  is  qualified  for  citizenship, 
all  other  races  must  be  admitted  to  share  that  invaluable 
privilege. 

With  the  exception  of  the  constant  outbreak  of  race  con 
flicts  in  the  South,  there  is  at  the  present  time  but  little 
Race  prospect  of  the  danger  once  so  greatly  appre- 

Conflicts.  hended  by  those  who  beheld  the  differing  racial 
elements  which,  converging  upon  our  shores,  were  destined 
to  make  up  the  composite  American  people.  A  half-century 
ago  the  apprehension  was  entertained  that  animosity  would 
arise  between  the  native  population  and  the  Irish,  between 
the  Irish  and  Germans,  or  among  such  other  antagonistic 
racial  elements  as  might  enter,  attracted  by  the  advantages 
of  the  country. 

Experience  has,  however,  dissipated  all  apprehensions 
of  this  character.  The  English,  Irish,  Germans,  and  Scan 
dinavians  have  rapidly  coalesced,  and  by  almost  impercep 
tible  degrees  assimilated  themselves  into  the  ideal  American 
type.  The  outbreaks  of  violence  resulting  from  racial 
animosity  between  these  various  races  have  been  but  few 
in  number  and  inconsiderable  in  result.  Even  the  Know- 
Nothing  agitation,  which  was  accentuated  by  considerable 
religious  prejudice,  did  not  result  in  any  especial  outbreaks  of 
violence,  and  at  the  present  time  the  assimilation  of  the  older, 
preponderant  elements  of  population  has  become  so  complete 
that  unconsciously  we  disregard  the  nationality  or  creed  of 
any  individual  with  whom  we  have  relations  unless  some  race 
trait  or  religious  inclination  is  peculiarly  marked.  Each  of 
the  different  strains  of  blood  wherever  numerous  has  left  its 
stamp  upon  the  character  of  the  community,  and  with  the  sole 
exception  of  the  negro,  each  is  rapidly,  but  almost  insensi 
bly,  becoming  lost  in  the  blending  of  the  new  American  race. 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship      555 

In  addition  to  this  objection  to  the  addition  of  unworthy 
elements  to  our  citizenship,  it  is  especially  undesirable  that 
there  should  be  resident  in  this  country  any  large  alien  popu 
lation  refusing  naturalization.  The  members  of  such  a 
colony  look  to  their  home  government  for  assistance  and 
protection,  and  are  certain  to  arouse  lively  resentment  in  the 
breasts  of  citizens  with  whom  their  interests  may  clash, 
which  in  turn  is  likely  to  result  in  international  complications. 

The  peculiar  character  of  our  political  organization  leads 
to  constant  embarrassment.  We  assume  by  our  treaties 
to  assure  to  the  subjects  or  citizens  of  foreign  powers  the  full 
protection  of  our  laws.  But  when  the  local  authorities  of  a 
state  or  municipality  refuse  to  perform  these  international 
obligations,  or  individuals  violate  the  treaty  rights  of  alien 
residents,  we  are  obliged  to  confess  that  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  possesses  no  compulsive  power  for  their  enforcement. 
The  present  agitation  in  relation  to  the  treatment  of  the  few 
Japanese  upon  the  Pacific  coast  is  a  signal  illustration  of 
this  imperfection  in  our  political  organization.  The  diffi 
culty  is  not  confined  to  our  country,  for  wherever  an  alien 
population  endeavors  to  intrude  in  competition  with  citizens, 
and  especially  to  underbid  them  in  the  labor  market,  the 
natural  instincts  of  self-preservation  are  sure  to  produce 
serious  friction. 

But  it  may  be  argued  in  opposition  to  this  view  that  it  would 
be  impolitic  at  the  present  time  to  limit  immigration,  for  the 

reason  that  while  in  Northern  communities  there 
The  Negro    . 

and  the       is  nowhere  a  special  demand  for  new  immigrants, 
migran .  an(j  jncjeecj  jn  fae  larger  cities  and  more  thickly 

settled  communities  the  contrary  complaint  that  there  is  an 
undue  proportion  of  newcomers  among  us  arises,  yet  that  the 
South  needs  immigration  and  that  every  effort  should  be 
made  to  secure  desirable  immigrants  to  supply  the  needs  of 
that  section.  It  is  true  that  there  is  an  exigent  demand  for  the 


556  The  Negro  Problem 

labor  of  men  in  the  factories  and  fields  and  mines  of  every  state 
in  the  South,  and  that  the  most  strenuous  efforts  are  being 
put  forth  to  secure  thrifty  immigrants  throughout  every 
section  of  that  part  of  the  country. 

The  Atlanta  Constitution  says  that  immigration  is  to-day 
the  watchword  of  Southern  progress,  and  every  important 
newspaper  south  of  the  Potomac  is  urging  with  all  its  power 
the  efforts  of  the  community  in  which  it  is  published  to  at 
tract  to  that  section  home-seekers  whose  physical  constitu 
tion,  character,  and  training  will  ultimately  fit  them  for 
American  citizenship. 

The  state  of  South  Carolina  took  up  the  matter  officially 
in  1906,  and  brought  to  Charleston  a  shipload  of  some  six 
or  seven  hundred  Belgian  immigrants,  whose  passage  was 
paid  by  the  state.  Considerable  difficulty  arose  with  the 
Federal  Government  over  what  appeared  to  be  a  violation 
of  the  Contract  Labor  Laws,  but  the  immigrants  were  landed, 
and  it  was  then  supposed  that  the  work  of  replenishing  the 
labor  supply  of  the  South  was  fairly  under  way.  And  yet 
further  immigrants  did  not  come,  while  large  numbers  of  the 
original  body  left  the  state  dissatisfied. 

The  Honorable  Hoke  Smith,  then  newly  elected  Governor 
of  Georgia,  with  a  committee  of  other  Georgians,  visited 
Europe  during  the  spring  of  1907,  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
the  immigration  problem,  and  of  endeavoring  to  turn  some 
portion  of  the  tide  of  foreign  immigration  into  his  state. 
Upon  his  return  the  Governor-elect  spoke  very  hopefully 
of  the  prospect  of  inducing  desirable  elements  from  Europe 
to  settle  in  Georgia.  No  practical  results,  however,  fol 
lowed  his  efforts,  and  immigrants  do  not  seek  the  South. 
Some  little  may  be  accomplished  in  isolated  instances,  but 
in  the  large  all  efforts  to  add  in  this  way  to  the  working  force 
of  the  South  will  be  fruitless. 

In  the  first  place,  the  attitude  of  the  South  toward  the 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship     557 

fmmigrant,  as  disclosed  by  the  newspapers  in  that  section 
of  the  country  and  by  the  sayings  of  its  public  men,  is  such 
as  to  repel  his  coming.  The  theory  of  the  promoters  of 
immigration  in  the  South  is  substantially  that  the  newcomer 
is  to  be  introduced  to  supplant  the  negro,  and  as  a  permanent 
peasant  class.  It  is  assumed  that  he  is  to  do  the  hard  work 
of  the  South,  while  the  present  Southern  white  population 
is  to  enjoy  the  rewards  of  his  labor.  This  attitude  in  itself 
would  be  enough  to  forbid  his  coming. 

In  his  report  to  the  Mayor  of  Charleston  on  the  subject 
of  attracting  white  immigration  to  the  South,  Mr.  P.  H. 
Gadsden,  one  of  the  Committee  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  that  city,  who  visited  Europe  for  that  purpose  in  1907, 
said: 

We  have  for  so  many  years  been  employing  negro  labor 
that  we  have  come  to  think  that  the  class  of  labor  per 
formed  by  the  negro  is  menial  to  a  large  degree,  and,  there 
fore,  we  are  not  prepared  at  the  present  time  to  treat  the 
immigrant  supplanting  such  a  negro  on  the  same  terms 
as  he  is  treated  in  the  North  and  West. 

But  even  were  the  attitude  of  the  Southern  landowner, 
manufacturer,  and  business  man  toward  the  prospective 
immigrant  of  a  more  liberal  character,  so  long  as  the  negro 
remains  in  the  South  no  immigration  to  that  quarter  of  any 
valuable  character  can  be  expected.  This  results  from  three 
cogent  reasons: 

(i)  The  natural  antipathy  which  the  Caucasian  in  Europe, 
as  well  as  in  this  country,  entertains  toward  the  negro,  which 
will  always  prevent  him  from  taking  a  position  upon  the 
same  level  with  the  black  man.  The  world's  experience 
establishes  that  if  these  two  antagonistic  races  are  brought 
together  under  circumstances  compelling  competition,  one 
or  the  other  will  establish  complete  domination,  and  the 
unsuccessful  rival  withdraw  from  the  field. 


558  The  Negro  Problem 

(2)  The  presence  of  the  negro  in  the  South,  with  his  low 
standard  of  living,  his  ignorance  and  ineffectiveness  as  a 
mechanic,  his  necessitated  willingness  to  work  for  meagre 
wages  and  to  submit  to  almost  any  imposition  of  the  employer, 
will  make  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  white  immigrant  to 
enter  into  the  field  of  labor  competition  with  him  wherever 
he  is  numerous.     So  long  as  the  negro  remains,  the  white 
landowner   cannot  advantageously    rent   his   land    to    the 
coming  immigrant,  and  the  white  laborer  cannot  expect  the 
wages  which  prevail  in  the  Northern  and  Western  sections 
of  the  country.     This  handicap  will  remain,  and  no  amount 
of  effort  to  induce  immigration  can  succeed  until  the  condi 
tions  arising  from  the  presence  of  the  African  race  are  radi 
cally  changed. 

(3)  The  much -longed -for   stream  of   industrious  and  in 
telligent  immigration  will  not  allow  itself  to  be  diverted  to 
the  South  until  intending  settlers  are  better  assured  of  the 
protection  of  the  laws  in  that  section.     They  have  heard 
and  read  of  the  deeds  of  violence  perpetrated  upon  the  negro 
population  by  those  who  are  endeavoring  to  induce  immi 
grants  to  replace  that  unreliable  race,  and  will  be  very  slow  to 
trust  themselves  in  the  hands  of  those  whose  reputation  for 
violence  is  so  fully  established.     In  like  manner,  also,  the 
oft-repeated  statements  of  the  white  leaders  in  the  South 
that  the  character  of  the  negro  is  such  that  in  the  rural  dis 
tricts  it  is  unsafe  for  the  white  man  to   leave  his  wife  and 
children  at   home  unprotected  are  certainly  not    calculated 
to  induce  the  home  loving  and  affectionate  family  man,  con 
stituting  the  better  class  among  immigrants,  to  take  up  his 
abode  in  any  Southern  community. 

The  disadvantages  to  which  the  immigrant  is  subjected 
in  the  Southern  section  of  the  country  are  not  unknown  to 
those  abroad  who  intend  seeking  new  homes  in  the  United 
States  or  unfamiliar  to  the  authorities  of  foreign  countries. 


Elements  of  American  Citizenship     559 

The  recent  Emigration  Law  of  Italy  gives  the  government 
of  that  kingdom  the  power  to  prevent  emigration  to  any 
country  where  conditions  are  unfavorable  to  the  welfare  of 
Italian  citizens,  and  under  its  provisions  the  authorities  have 
forbidden  emigration  to  Mississippi,  on  the  ground  that 
conditions  there  prevailing  do  not  afford  adequate  security  to 
intending  settlers. 

During  the  summer  of  1907  the  North  German  Lloyd 
and  Hamburg-American  steamship  lines  refused  to  consider 
the  proposition  of  the  Southwestern  Immigration  Conference 
looking  to  the  development  of  New  Orleans  as  a  station  for 
the  reception  of  immigrants.  The  reason  given  by  the 
officials  of  the  companies  for  their  action  was,  substantially, 
that  so  many  bitter  complaints  of  harsh  treatment  by  em 
ployers  of  labor  had  been  made  by  German  and  Austrian 
immigrants  to  that  section,  that  until  this  condition  was 
remedied  they  would  refuse  to  promote  immigration. 

Once,  however,  the  solution  of  Lincoln  was  adopted,  and 
the  displacement  of  the  negro  from  the  South  had  begun, 
with  the  assurance  that  it  was  to  be  a  permanent  policy;  once 
the  tide  of  emigration  from  the  South  had  been  set  in  motion 
toward  the  African  continent,  and  the  nation's  faith  pledged 
to  its  continuance  to  the  utterance;  then  room  would  be 
found  for  millions  of  industrious  and  capable  immigrants 
from  the  better  sections  of  Europe,  who  would  gladly  avail 
themselves  of  the  multiplying  opportunities  and  attractions 
to  be  found  in  the  development  of  the  South. 

Have  we,  then,  a  moral  right  to  exclude  the  immigrant, 
as  well  as  to  eliminate  the  negro  from  citizenship,  where  the 
Our  Right  welfare  of  the  future  millions  of  the  American 
to  Exclude.  race  demands  such  action? 

The  answer  cannot  be  better  expressed  than  in  the  words 
of  the  late  Reverend  Phillips  Brooks,  whose  perfect  poise 
of  judgment  and  beautiful  Christian  spirit  give  transcendent 


560  The  Negro  Problem 

weight  to  his  words  upon  this  momentous  question.  Listen, 
then,  to  his  clearly  outlined  statement  as  to  our  rights  and 
duties  upon  the  question  of  the  admission  of  alien  elements 
to  our  American  citizenship: 

No  nation,  as  no  man,  has  a  right  to  take  possession  of 
a  choice  bit  of  God's  earth,  to  exclude  the  foreigner  from 
its  territory,  that  it  may  live  more  comfortably  and  be  a 
little  more  at  peace.  But  if  to  this  particular  nation  there 
has  been  given  the  development  of  a  certain  part  of  God's 
earth  for  universal  purposes;  if  the  world  in  the  great 
march  of  centuries  is  going  to  be  richer  for  the  develop 
ment  of  a  certain  national  character,  built  up  by  a  larger 
type  of  manhood  here,  then  for  the  world's  sake,  for  the 
sake  of  every  nation  that  would  pour  in  upon  it  that  which 
would  disturb  that  development,  we  have  a  right  to  stand 
guard  over  it. 

We  are  to  develop  here  in  America  a  type  of  national 
character,  we  believe,  for  which  the  world  is  to  be  richer 
always.  It  may  be  the  last  grand  experiment  of  God's 
wandering  humanity  upon  earth.  We  have  a  right  to 
stand  guard  over  the  conditions  of  that  experiment,  let 
ting  nothing  interfere  with  it,  drawing  into  it  the  richness 
that  is  to  come  by  the  entrance  of  many  men  from  many 
nations,  and  they  in  sympathy  with  our  Constitution  and 
laws. 

Yes,  many  men  of  many  nations,  but  all  of  the  best  types, 
and  only  those  who  readily  fuse  into  the  great  comprehensive 
American  citizen.  The  right  to  admit  involves  the  duty  to 
reject.  Upon  us  rests  the  responsibility  of  seeing  that  neither 
by  the  admission  of  those  disqualified  seeking  to  enter, 
nor  by  the  retention  of  those  disqualified  desiring  to  remain, 
shall  the  character  of  this  chosen  people  undergo  debasement, 
and  the  ideals  and  institutions  founded  and  preserved  by 
the  infinite  sacrifices  of  those  who  have  preceded  us  be 
imperilled. 


CONCLUSION 

THE  task  of  the  writer  is  finished.  His  ambition  has  been 
to  place  before  the  thoughtful  public  of  the  country 
a  description  of  the  existing  condition  of  the  negro  problem 
as  it  affects  our  national  welfare,  and  to  state  the  methods 
by  which  the  solution  proposed  by  Abraham  Lincoln  might 
be  successfully  carried  into  effect.  The  purpose  has  been 
to  present  a  practical  working  remedy  for  the  evil,  as  far 
removed  on  the  one  hand  from  the  continuance  of  present 
intolerable  conditions,  as  on  the  other  from  a  mere  counsel 
of  perfection  impossible  of  attainment.  In  what  measure 
success  has  been  achieved  those  who  may  read  the  work 
will  best  be  able  to  render  judgment.  If  the  discussion 
has  appeared  perhaps  too  prolonged,  the  only  excuse  the 
writer  has  to  offer  is  the  transcendent  importance  of  the 
subject,  requiring  the  fullest  consideration  of  the  delicate 
and  complicated  interests  involved.  In  the  words  of  the 
annalist  of  the  Maccabees,  the  writer  would  modestly  say 
in  submitting  his  work:  "and  if  I  have  done  well  and  as  is 
fitting  the  story,  it  is  that  which  I  desire;  but  if  slenderly 
and  meanly,  it  is  that  which  I  could  attain  unto." 

But  one  word  remains  to  be  added  to  what  has  gone 
before.  We  are  rapidly  approaching  the  celebration  of  the 
centenary  of  the  birth  of  the  man  whose  name  in  the  public 
thought  is  inseparably  associated  with  the  emancipation 
of  the  negro  race  from  slavery.  In  the  shadow  of  his  im 
perishable  memory  we  will  shortly  pause  for  a  moment  to 
36  561 


562  The  Negro  Problem 

renew  our  expressions  of  faith  in  those  principles  of  democ 
racy  of  which  he  was  the  illustrious  exemplar. 

Already  in  press  and  pulpit,  in  forms  of  art,  in  educational 
preparation,  and  in  the  speech  of  the  people  the  greatness  of 
this  coming  celebration  is  foreshadowed.  On  the  i2th 
of  February,  1909,  the  people  of  the  great  Northern  and 
Western  sections  of  the  country  will  suspend  their  daily 
duties  and  in  holiday  spirit  proceed  in  manifold  ways  to  do 
honor  to  the  memory  of  him  who  stands  pedestalled  with 
Washington,  heir  of  eternal  fame, 

The  pillar  of  a  people's  hope, 
The  centre  of  a  world's  desire. 

Assembled  millions  of  school  children  will  listen  to  the 
description  of  his  life  of  unsurpassed  devotion  to  his  coun 
try's  service;  eloquent  speakers  at  the  banquet  hall  and  on 
the  platform  will  extol  his  superlative  virtues  and  with 
patriotic  oratory  endeavor  to  impress  upon  their  hearers 
the  lessons  of  his  inspiring  career.  Pulpit  and  press  will 
vie  in  eulogy  of  his  memory,  and  the  humble  site  of  his  birth 
place  will  be  marked  by  the  dedication  of  a  magnificent 
mausoleum  erected  by  the  contributions  of  loving  citizens 
in  commemoration  of  the  event  of  such  profound  importance 
to  the  American  people.  All  that  the  reverent  homage  of  a 
grateful  nation  may  render  in  affectionate  and  appreciative 
recognition  of  the  nobility  of  his  character  and  the  abiding 
value  of  his  services  to  humanity  will  be  laid  at  his  feet. 

And  yet  the  house  remains  divided.  Beyond  a  perfunc 
tory  recognition  of  his  kindly  human  attributes  and  an 
occasional  acknowledgment  of  his  unusual  political  ability, 
the  South  will  remain  unmoved  by  the  great  celebration. 
The  negro,  everywhere  excluded  from  participation  by  the 
spirit  of  caste,  if  he  rejoices  at  all  will  do  so  in  separation,  and 
can  find  but  little  in  the  event  to  encourage  him  toward  a 


Conclusion  563 

hopeful  future.  He  cannot  readily  forget  that  in  studied 
phrase  the  President-elect  announced  to  the  world  at  the 
North  Carolina  dinner  in  New  York  on  December  7, 1908,  his 
acquiescence  in  the  negro-disfranchising  methods  prevailing 
in  the  South,  and,  assuming  that  these  have  effected  the 
temporary  elimination  of  the  race  problem,  has  made  his 
futile  bid  for  the  political  support  of  the  white  men  of  that 
section  upon  other  issues.  What  consolation  is  it  to  the  dis 
franchised  black  man  of  the  South  for  Mr.  Taft  to  qualify 
his  acceptance  of  the  suppression  of  the  negro  vote  by  vaguely 
outlined  requirements  of  fair  and  equal  administration  of 
the  law  as  between  the  white  and  black  races  ?  For  all  men 
know  that  the  Southern  negro  will  never  have  an  equal 
chance  to  qualify  himself  for  the  franchise,  and  that  the 
formal  abandonment  by  the  coming  administration  of  any 
purpose  of  enforcing  the  great  war  amendments  will  serve 
as  the  reading  of  the  warrant  for  the  political  death  of  the 
negro. 

The  South  so  understands  it,  and  the  newspapers  of  that 
section  commend  the  utterances  of  the  President-elect  as  the 
final  announcement  of  the  negro's  relegation  to  his  position 
of  permanent  subordination  and  the  formal  acceptance  of  the 
failure  of  the  policy  of  reconstruction. 

In  this  dark  hour  of  the  negro's  condition,  from  far-off 
African  shores,  where  actual  freedom  for  a  few  members  of 
the  race  still  exists,  come  the  Liberian  envoys  soliciting 
the  intervention  of  the  United  States  to  preserve  the  integrity 
of  their  little  state  from  the  threatened  boundary  aggressions 
of  France  and  England.  Though  adverse  circumstances 
menace  their  political  existence,  and  they  find  themselves 
constrained  to  implore  assistance  from  the  powerful  country 
responsible  for  their  feeble  nationality,  they  deport  them 
selves  with  all  the  dignity  becoming  to  men  engaged  in  an 
honorable  attempt  to  maintain  their  national  independence. 


564  The  Negro  Problem 

In  temperate  language  the  envoys  deplore  the  conditions  of 
oppression  and  unjust  discrimination  to  which  their  brothers 
are  subjected  in  this  country,  and  point  out  to  them  the  way 
by  which  enduring  freedom  may  be  acquired.  Reporting 
conditions  of  hopeful  progress  in  their  own  land,  with  edu 
cational  advancement  and  religious  regeneration,  they  sym 
bolize  the  best  that  the  negro  has  yet  accomplished  and  stand 
as  examples  for  the  encouragement  of  the  race. 

And  so  we  reach  the  final  thought.  On  the  eve  of  this 
coming  celebration  of  Lincoln's  birth,  in  this  hour  of  the  dis 
couragement  of  the  race  for  whose  welfare  he  so  mightily 
strove  and  so  steadfastly  endured,  are  we  certain  that  we 
have  caught  the  inspiration  of  his  exalted  life  and  that  we 
are  worthy  and  competent  to  complete  the  work  which  he  so 
nobly  advanced?  Are  our  professions  of  devotion  to  his 
memory,  after  all,  anything  more  than  hollow  lip-service, 
and  have  we  in  our  hearts  the  courage  and  in  our  minds  the 
intelligence  and  resolution  to  solve  the  negro  problem  as 
Lincoln  would  have  had  it  solved  ?  Do  we  possess  that  large 
and  tolerant  comprehension  of  the  weaknesses  and  in 
capacities  of  the  unformed  negro  character  so  needful  to 
guide  us  in  our  dealings  with  the  race?  Have  we  sufficient 
confidence  in  the  character  of  the  negro  people  and  in  its 
ability  to  attain  the  stature  of  manhood  and  womanhood  to 
justify  us  in  opening  to  it  the  gates  of  opportunity  ?  These 
are  the  ultimate  questions  of  our  negro  problem. 

For  surely,  if,  uncertain  in  purpose,  we  postpone;  if  through 
timidity  we  evade;  if  through  avarice  we  oppress;  on  our 
children  and  on  our  children's  children,  even  to  remotest 
generations,  the  penalty  will  fall.  And  if  by  such  unworthy 
evasion  of  the  plainest  duty  we  condemn  the  negro  to  a  con 
tinuance  of  industrial  oppression,  to  social  proscription,  and 
to  political  effacement,  and  in  so  doing  in  corresponding 
measure  effect  our  national  debasement,  then  may  we  well 


Conclusion  565 

confess  in  our  heart  of  hearts  that  our  rejoicing  in  the  abolish 
ment  of  slavery  was  premature,  that  the  war  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  Union  were  better  unfought,  and  that  Lincoln's 
work  was  done  in  vain. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 

It  had  been  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  prepare  a 
somewhat  extended  bibliographical  note  of  the  literature 
pertaining  to  the  solution  of  the  negro  problem  and  to 
indicate  therein  in  some  detail  the  authorities  relied  upon  as 
his  sources  of  information.  The  unexpected  dimensions 
to  which  his  work  has  grown  make  this  course  inadvisable. 
This  is  the  less  to  be  regretted  as  in  the  case  of  nearly  all 
important  statements  of  fact  either  the  authority  has  been 
given  in  the  text  or  is  readily  accessible  in  the  histories  or 
other  standard  works  upon  the  subject.  His  practice  has 
been  to  avoid  as  far  as  practicable  the  use  of  footnotes  in 
order  that  the  reader's  attention  might  not  be  distracted 
from  the  current  of  the  thought. 

Some  of  the  authorities  and  sources  of  information  may, 
however,  be  of  interest. 

a.  As  to  the  general  condition  of  the  negro  race  in  the 
United  States,  its  history  and  prospects,  the  reading  of 
the  author  has  been  quite  widely  extended.     It  embraces 
the  various  histories  of  the  negro  race  in  this  country,  the 
census  statistics  relating  to  its  progress,  and  a  careful  read 
ing  of  magazine  and  newspaper  comment  and  discussion 
during  the  past  five  years.     The  author  has   found  the 
description  of  negro  life  and  conditions  contained  in  the 
work  of  Mr.  Ray  Stannard  Baker,  hereinafter  noted,  es 
pecially  helpful. 

b.  The  views  expressed  as  to  the  political  and  other  con 
ditions  prevailing  in  the  South  are  derived  from  a  careful 
examination  of  the  statistics  of  the  Twelfth  Census,  the  poli 
tical  statistics  published  in  the  New  York  Tribune  Almanac, 

567 


568  Bibliographical  Note 

and  a  diligent  reading  of  newspapers  and  magazines  pub 
lished  in  that  section.  The  sentiments  of  the  political 
leaders  of  the  Southern  States  have  been  deduced  from 
their  speeches  as  reported  in  the  newspapers,  and  from  a 
painstaking  examination  of  the  pages  of  the  Congressional 
Record,  which  is  a  storehouse  of  enlightening  material  upon 
the  views  entertained  by  the  statesmen  of  the  South.  This 
has  been  supplemented  by  conversations  with  many  well 
informed  persons  from  the  South  upon  the  general 
subject. 

c.  To   ascertain   the   thought   of  the   negro   upon   the 
problem  recourse  has  been  had  to  the  published  works 
of   President   Booker  T.   Washington,    Professor  William 
E.   Burghardt  DuBois,  Professor  Kelly  Miller,  and  other 
negro  essayists,  supplemented  by  the  regular  reading  of 
the  Colored  American  Magazine  and  various  other  negro 
periodicals.     The   writer   has   also  listened   to   many   ad 
dresses  by  prominent  negroes,  and,  when  opportunity  af 
forded,  conversed  with  members  of  the  race  who  appeared 
to  have  given  the  question  some  thoughtful  consideration. 

d.  Upon  the  subject  of  lynching  the  work  of  Dr.  James 
Elbert  Cutler,  cited  in  the  text,  has  been  freely  consulted, 
together    with    the    statistics    compiled    by    the    Chicago 
Tribune,  which    have    been    courteously   furnished.     The 
principal  reliance,  however,  has  been  upon  the  published 
accounts  of  these  atrocities  contained  in  the  newspapers 
during  the  past  five  years,  which  fully  establish  the  intimate 
relation  between  the  negro  and  this  species  of  criminality. 

e.  Upon   other  subjects  the   authorities  are   generally 
clearly  indicated.     Lincoln's   views   are   presented   in  his 
own  well  chosen  words.     The  statements  of  fact  relating 
to   Hayti  and  the  African  continent  are,   it  is  believed, 
supported  by  the  most  recent  authorities.     While  seeking 
to  avoid  exaggeration,  the  writer  has  also  endeavored  not 
to  be  misled  by  statements  of  conditions  relating  to  these 
countries  which  either  never  existed  or  have  in  large  part 
passed  away. 


Bibliographical  Note  569 

AUTHORITIES 

In  1906  the  United  States  published  a  pamphlet  en 
titled  Select  List  of  References  on  the  Negro  Question,  com 
piled  under  the  direction  of  Appleton  Prentiss  Clark  Griffin, 
Chief  Bibliographer.  Washington,  Government  Printing  Of 
fice,  1906.  The  list  contains  a  full  bibliography  of  the  sub 
ject  to  the  date  of  publication. 

There  is  but  little  to  be  gained  by  the  examination  of 
works  on  the  subject  prior  to  1870.  The  foregoing  list 
will  be  furnished  by  the  Librarian  of  Congress  upon  ap 
plication  and  contains  a  note  of  substantially  everything 
of  value  bearing  upon  the  subject  up  to  the  time  of  its 
appearance. 

A  memorandum  of  a  few  of  the  more  important  works 
bearing  upon  the  general  subject  which  have  since  ap 
peared  is  appended. 

Studies  in  the  American  Race  Problem.  By  ALFRED 
HOLT  STONE.  New  York,  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  1908. 
With  an  introduction  and  three  papers  by  Walter  F. 
Wilcox. 

A  series  of  essays  discussing  the  negro  problem  from 
a  distinctively  Southern  view-point.  Devoting  his  atten 
tion  principally  to  the  study  of  the  economic  condition 
of  the  black  man,  Mr.  Stone  finds  but  little  of  encourage 
ment  in  the  material  or  moral  prospects  of  the  race. 

Following  the  Color  Line.  By  RAY  STANNARD  BAKER. 
New  York,  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  1908. 

The  work  of  a  trained  newspaper  reporter  who  spent 
months  in  the  most  minute  study  of  the  problem  of  the 
negro.  From  Boston  to  New  Orleans,  Mr.  Baker  fol 
lowed  the  color  line  and  in  his  work  he  describes  the 
actual  condition  of  the  American  negro  of  to-day. 

Race  Adjustment.  Essays  on  the  Negro  in  America. 
By  KELLY  MILLER.  New  York,  Neale  Publishing  Co., 
1908. 

A   series   of   essays   treating   the   subject    in   scholarly 


57°  Bibliographical  Note 

fashion  from  the  negro's  view-point.  Full  of  indignant 
protest  against  the  social  discrimination  to  which  the  negro 
is  subjected,  the  writer  eloquently  pleads  for  fuller  recog 
nition  of  the  virtues  of  his  race. 

Vital  American  Problems.  An  Attempt  to  Solve  the 
" Trust,"  " Labor,"  and  "Negro"  Problems.  By  HENRY 
EARL  MONTGOMERY.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York 
and  London.  The  Knickerbocker  Press,  1908. 

The  third  part  of  the  work,  embracing  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pages,  is  devoted  to  a  discussion  of 
the  negro  problem.  Reviewing  the  facts  relating  to  the 
negro's  history  and  present  condition,  the  author  arrives 
at  no  conclusion,  and  so  far  as  his  work  purports  to  be  an 
attempt  to  solve  the  "negro"  problem  the  title  is  mis 
leading.  It  is  simply  an  inconsequential  discussion. 

Some  Southern  Questions.  By  W.  A.  McCoRKLE.  New 
York,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1908. 

A  temperate  discussion  of  the  question  in  connection 
with  other  questions  affecting  the  South.  No  conclusion 
as  to  the  solution  is  reached. 

The  Negro,  Past,  Present,  and  Future.  By  JOHN  AM 
BROSE  PRICE.  Neale  Publishing  Company,  1907. 

Three  hundred  pages  of  profitless  discussion  from  the 
extreme  Southern  standpoint.  The  conclusion  is  stated 
at  page  275  as  follows: 

"The  negro,  being  a  descendant  of  Ham,  can  be  made 
subservient  to  human  use,  for  his  manifest  destiny  is 
that  of  a  servant,  and  the  ordinance  of  God  requires  that 
he  should  be  placed  in  a  subordinate  position  to  a  superior 
race." 


INDEX 


Abolition  movement,  character 
of,  41 

Adler,  Felix,  views  on  negro 
problem,  212 

Africa,  suggested  by  Lincoln  for 
removal  of  negro,  381;  a 
refuge  for  the  negroess  395; 
general  description  of,  396; 
not  unfitted  for  habitation, 
396;  nations  taking  posses 
sion  of,  397;  effect  of  negro 
emigration  to,  482 

Alabama  disfranchises  negroes, 
256 

Aliens  objectionable  in  large 
numbers,  555 

Amalgamation   not   a   solution, 

158 

Annapolis,  Md.,  lynching  in, 
198 

Antipathy,  racial,  nature  of, 
1 6-1 8;  strength  of,  105-106; 
reasons  for,  189 

Asheville,  N.  C.,  lynching  of 
negro  near,  146 

Assimilation  not  feasible,  13; 
unhappy  results  of,  14 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  massacre  of  ne 
groes  in,  194 

Attucks,  Crispus,  death  in  Bos 
ton,  33 

Austria,  race  conditions  in,  25 

Aversion,  race,  character  of,   13 

Aycock,  ex-Governor,  views  on 
negro  problem,  169 


B 


Baker,   Ray  Stannard,  descrip 
tion  of  Jim  Crow  conditions, 


120;  remark  on  attitude  of 
South  toward  negro,  500 

Ballot,  the,  entrusted  to  negro, 
43 

Bancroft,  Herbert  H.,  favors 
Chinese  and  Japanese  "cheap 
labor,"  551 

Bean,  Dr.  Robert  Bennett, 
Study  of  Negro  Brain,  10; 
on  negro  prospects,  214 

Belgium,  race  conditions  in,  25; 
controls  Congo  Free  State, 
400 

Black  Belt,  situation  of,  50 

Blaine,  Jas.  G.,  Thirty  Years 
of  Congress,  237;  remarks 
on  reconstruction,  240;  re 
marks  on  1 5th  Amendment, 
242 

Blair,  Montgomery,  proposed 
colonization  of  negroes,  449 

Boston  negroes  pass  Browns 
ville  resolution,  101 

Brooks,  Rev.  Phillips,  asserts 
our  right  to  exclude  undesir 
able  elements  from  citizen 
ship,  559 

Brougham,  Lord,  views  on  Eng 
lish  Constitution,  231 

Broward,  Napoleon  B.,  plan 
for  transportation  of  negroes 
to  other  lands,  458 

Brown,  William  Garrott,  Study 
of  Negro  Industrial  Condi 
tions,  79 

Brownsville  incident,  signifi 
cance  of  the,  98 

Bryce,  Hon.  James,  comments 
on  American  institutions,  145 ; 
discusses  future  of  negro,  455 

Butler,  Benj.  F.,  conversation 
with  Lincoln  on  negroes,  326; 
reports  colonization  impos 
sible,  327 


57i 


572 


Index 


Caffey,  Francis  G.,  explanation 
of  decrease  in  Southern  vote, 
271 

Calhoun,  William  P.,  favors 
separation  of  negro,  456 

Cape  to  Cairo  Railway  soon  to 
be  completed,  483 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  states  solu 
tion  of  negro  problem,  217 

Carter,  James  C.,  observations 
on  Civil  Rights  Acts,  359 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  lynching 
in,  198 

"Cheap  labor,"  discussion  of, 
550;  effect  of  negro  upon, 
551  et  seq. 

Child  labor  among  negroes, 
62 

Churches,  separate,  for  negroes, 
93 ;  non-attendance  of  negroes 
at,  94 

Citizens,  none  should  be  dis 
franchised,  355 

Citizenship  should  be  confined 
to  Caucasian  race,  532 

Civil  Rights  Acts,  character  and 
purpose  of,  356;  provisions 
of,  357;  ineffective,  358;  not 
enforceable,  359 

Civil  Service  of  U.  S.,  Southern 
men  and  women  excluded 
from,  509:  discussion  of, 
Book  IV.,  Chap.  IV. 

Civil  War,  negroes  in,  42; 
discloses  magnitude  of  negro 
problem,  42 ;  influence  on 
increase  of  population,  419 

Clay,  Henry,  favored  coloniza 
tion,  444 

Cleveland,  Grover,  discusses  ne 
gro  problem,  216 

Colonization,  favored  by  Lin 
coln,  315;  Liberia  suggested 
by  Lincoln,  320;  Lincoln 
proposes  Central  America, 
321;  Lincoln's  views  on,  323; 
characterized  unfavorably, 
412;  objections  to,  413;  pre 
cedent  for,  415;  discussed 
by  Atlanta  Constitution,  432 

Colonization  Society,  organized 
in  1817,  343;  prominent  mem 
bers,  343;  declared  purposes, 


344;  establishes  settlement 
in  Liberia,  345 

Colquhoun,  Archibald  R.,  view 
of  race  problem,  24 

Concentration  of  advantages, 
theory  of,  545 

Congo  Free  State,  description 
of,  398;  political  condition, 
400;  offers  opportunity  for 
negroes,  402;  effect  of  negro 
emigration  to,  484 

Conjugal  condition  among  ne 
groes,  62 

Connecticut,  political  conditions 
in,  267 

Constitution  of  the  U.  S.  fails 
to  mention  negro,  37;  pro 
visions  relating  to,  38 

Contrast  of  sections,  table  show 
ing  great  differences  between 
North  and  South,  494 

Convict  labor  system,  discussion 
of,  116;  statistics  relating  to, 
117;  negro's  departure  would 
interfere  with,  430;  profits  of, 
43i 

Cotton  industry,  negro  excluded 
from,  80 

Criminality,  negro,  statistics  of, 
130-139;  effect  of,  141;  dis 
cussion  of,  375 

Cuba,  position  of  negro  in,  291; 
would  welcome  American 
negroes,  391;  a  dependency 
of  the  United  States,  531 

Cutler,  Dr.  James  E.,  work  on 
lynch  law,  182;  description 
of  negro,  189 


D 


Democracy,  discussion  of,  229; 
effect  of  negro  on,  233 

Dependencies,  effect  of  negro 
upon,  530 

De  Toqueville,  Alexis  Charles, 
comment  on  race  prejudice, 
68;  views  of  the  future  of 
the  negro,  453 

Disfranchisement  of  negro,  be 
ginning  of,  245;  methods 
adopted  for,  247;  "Grand 
father  Clauses,"  248;  pro 
perty  qualifications,  248; 
educational  tests,  249;  provi- 


Index 


573 


Disfranchisement — Continued 
sions  for,  in  states,  249;  now 
complete,  257;  effect  of,  259; 
table  exhibiting,  260,  261 ;  dis 
cussion  of,  274-276;  a.cquies- 
ence  of  North  in,  276;  effect 
of,  281 ;  accepted  by  President 
elect  Taft,  563 

District  of  Columbia,  negro  crim 
inality  in,  114 

Dixon,  Thomas,  Jr.,  character 
ization  of  negro,  30;  remarks 
on  Booker  T.  Washington, 
290 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  opposed 
negro  citizenship,  446 

Douglass,  Frederick,  favored 
amalgamation,  158;  mulatto 
in  origin,  287;  advocate  of 
cosmopolitan  nationality,  301 

Dred  Scott  decision  declared 
negro  not  a  citizen,  233 

DuBois,  Prof.  William  E.  Burg- 
hardt,  estimate  of  value  of 
negro  property,  64;  negro  con 
ditions  in  South,  88;  color 
line  at  the  South,  153,  opinion 
of  Southern  sentiment,  162; 
denounces  Atlanta  lynchings, 
195;  would  pass  for  white 
man,  288;  discusses  color 
line,  301;  demand  for  sym 
pathy  with  negro,  304;  would 
be  disinclined  to  accept  Lin 
coln 's  solution,  426 


Eastman,  Professor,  sees  no 
solution  possible,  157 

Education,  table  of  amounts 
expended  for,  in  certain  large 
cities,  496 

Education  of  negro,  neglected, 
76;  higher,  77;  opportunities 
in  the  North,  91;  not  to  be 
allowed,  176;  urged  by  the 
North,  215;  fallacy  of  argu 
ment  for,  219;  Southern  views 
of,  223 

Eliot,  President  Charles  N., 
views  on  negro,  83 ;  report 
on  increase  of  native  popula 
tion,  547 


Ellsworth,  Oliver,  views  on 
slavery,  37 

Emigration,  of  individual  ne 
groes  likely,  477;  results  of, 
478 

Equality,  negro's  demand  for, 
18;  meaning  of,  19;  industrial, 
19;  political,  20;  social,  20; 
matrimonial,  22;  negroes'  de 
sire  for,  291 

Estrangement  of  sections  caused 
by  negro,  514 

Expense  of  plan,  365;  not 
prohibitive,  367;  details  con 
sidered,  368;  computation  of, 
370;  how  to  be  met,  372; 
compared  with  other  nations ' 
expenses,  373;  insignificant 
as  compared  with  benefits, 

536 

Extermination  of  negro  not 
a  possible  solution,  159 


Fertility,  law  of,  49 

Fifteenth  Amendment,  adoption 
of,  241;  Blaine  on,  242:  pur 
pose  frustrated,  243;  South 
demands  repeal  of,  255 

Fillmore,  Millard,  planner  colo 
nization  of  negroes,  446 

Florida  disfranchises  negroes, 
255 

Fourteenth  Amendment,  adop 
tion  of,  238;  rejection  of, 
by  South,  240;  Blaine  upon, 
240;  a  mere  brutum  fulmen, 
274;  modification  proposed, 

Fraternal  associations  exclude 
negroes,  91 


Galloway,  Bishop,  statement 
of  Southern  opinion,  163 

Gardner,  Chas.  A.,  suggestion 
of  separation  of  races,  213; 
discusses  solution  by  educa 
tion,  218 

Garfield,  James  A.,  quotation 
from,  153 

Garner,  Prof.  James  W.,  views 
on  lynching.  187 


574 


Index 


Georgia,  value  of  negro  property 
in,  65;  prevents  negroes  leav 
ing  State,  175;  disfranchises 
negroes,  252;  contrast  with 
Iowa,  263;  analysis  of  vote 
in,  265;  sentiment  on  col 
onization,  433  •  sends  immi 
gration  commission  abroad, 
506 

Germany  establishes  colony  in 
East  Africa,  397 

Gorman,  Arthur  P.,  on  methods 
of  disfranchisement,  270 

Government  by  negroes,  failure 
of,  44 

"Grandfather  Clauses,"  charac 
ter  of,  248 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  proposed 
annexation  of  San  Domingo, 
393;  believed  negroes  would 
emigrate  to  San  Domingo, 


H 


Halsey,  Bishop  Lucius  H.,  fa 
vors  separation  of  races,  460 

Harvard  University  encourages 
negroes,  91 

Hayti,  attempt  at  colonization, 
325 ;  description  of,  391 ;  offers 
opportunity  for  negroes,  392; 
effect  of  large  negro  emigra 
tion  to,  481 

Heflin,  J.  T.,  Congressman  from 
Alabama,  offers  Jim  Crow 
resolution,  121 

Helper,  Hinton  R.,  published 
The  Impending  Crisis,  487;, 
comparisons  between  North 
and  South,  488;  remarks  on 
slavery,  491;  some  erroneous 
conclusions,  493 


Illiteracy  among  negroes,  59 
Immigration,  of  negro  should 
be  prohibited,  362;  greater 
than  number  of  negroes,  471; 
would  benefit  South  were 
negro  deported,  503;  shuns 
the  South,  504;  character  of 
early,  to  United  States,  541; 
tables  showing  increase  of, 


544;  character  of  recent,  549; 
likelihood  of  restriction  of, 
552;  national  commission 
appointed  to  investigate  con 
ditions  of,  552;  undesirable 
character  of,  553;  attitude  of 
the  South  toward,  556 

Indians,  removal  of,  to  Indian 
Territory,  378 

Ingalls,  John  J.,  favored  coloni 
zation,  452 

Intermarriage  of  races,  provi 
sions  forbidding,  361;  should 
be  extended,  361 

Iowa,  contrast  with  Georgia,  263 


J 


Jeanes,  Anna  T.,  establishes 
fund  for  negro  education, 

221 

Jeanes  Fund,  views  of  South  in 
regard  to,  222 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  favored  de 
portation  of  negro,  443 ;  did 
not  favor  immigration,  542 

Jelks,  Governor  Win.  D.,  state 
ment  of  negro's  status,  166; 
favors  removal  of  negroes,  457 

Jim  Crow  laws,  character  of, 
118;  adopted  in  Oklahoma, 
119;  illustration  of  operation, 
122 

Johnston,  Sir  Harry,  work  on 
Liberia,  405;  praises  progress 
of  Liberia,  405 

Justice  of  plan  considered,  411 


K 


Kansas,  discrimination  against 
negro,  74;  separate  schools  in, 
77;  expense  of  removing  ne 
groes  from,  372 

Keifer,  J.  Warren,  speech  on 
equality  of  representation,  259 

Kemper  Co.,  Miss.,  race  war  in, 
197 


Labor,  place  of  negro  in,  129; 
benefited  by  removal  of 
negro,  521;  Lincoln 's  remarks 
concerning,  538 


Index 


575 


Liberia,  Lincoln  suggests  emi 
gration  to,  320;  Lincoln  sug 
gests  advantages  of,  324; 
description  of,  404;  account 
of  political  conditions  in, 
406;  motto  of,  407;  envoys 
from,  visit  United  States, 
563 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  solution  of 
negro  problem,  Book  II.,  Chap. 
VII.;  views  on  social  and  po 
litical  equality  of  negroes,  306 ; 
birth  and  early  training,  306; 
visit  to  New  Orleans,  307; 
described  lynching,  307;  pro 
test  in  Illinois  Legislature, 
308;  memorial  address  on 
Henry  Clay,  310;  would  send 
negroes  to  Liberia,  312;  dis 
cusses  separation,  314;  debate 
with  Douglas,  315;  recom 
mends  colonization  in  first 
message,  315;  suggests  negro 
emigration  to  South  America, 
317;  address  to  negro  men, 
317;  discusses  Liberian  colo 
nization,  320;  proposes  colo 
nization  of  negroes,  323; 
recommends  constitutional 
amendment,  324;  confers  with 
Gen.  Butler  on  colonizing 
negroes,  326;  never  abandons 
colonization,  328;  was  his 
solution  right?  329;  remarks 
on  colonization,  346;  mes 
sage  to  Congress,  Dec.,  1862, 
347;  favors  removal  of  negro 
to  Africa,  382;  results  of 
plan  of,  519;  effect  of  negro 
on  labor,  538;  promoted  im 
migration,  543;  estimate  of 
growth  of  population,  548; 
celebration  of  centenary  of, 
561 

Living,  American  standard  of, 

J31 

Lynching,  element  in  the  prob 
lem,  Book  II.,  Chap.  II.; 
origin  of  term,  179;  defined, 
179;  statistics  of,  180;  causes 
of,  187;  justification  of,  190; 
effects  of,  191;  examples 
of,  192;  remedies  suggested 
for,  201;  how  to  prevent, 
203 


M 


Mcllhenny,  John,  endeavors 
to  arouse  interest  of  South 
in  civil  service,  510 

McKinley,  Carlyle,  views  on 
removal  of  negro,  438 

McLaughlin,  Dr.  Allan,  remarks 
on  character  of  immigrants, 
54.8 

Madison,  James,  views  on  re 
publican  institutions,  229 

Maryland,  Republican  platform 
in,  170;  efforts  to  disfranchise 
negroes,  249 

Masonry,  non-recognition  of 
negroes,  92 

Merriam,  George  S.,  history  of 
the  negro,  29;  account  of 
social  courtesy  with  negroes, 
,105 

Military  organizations  exclude 
negroes,  75 

Miller,  Kelly,  on  social  equality, 
21 ;  remarks  on  lynching, 
201 

Miscegenation,  dangers  of,  22 

Mississippi,  leads  in  lynchings, 
184;  suggestions  as  to,  227; 
leads  the  way  in  frustrating 
1 5th  Amendment,  243;  negro 
disfranchised,  256;  analysis 
of  vote  in,  265;  congressional 
vote  in,  266;  contest  between 
Vardaman  and  Williams,  272 ; 
Italy  refuses  to  permit  emi 
gration  of  subjects  to,  559 

Missouri  Compromise,  40;  re 
peal  of,  41 

Mitchell,  John,  negroes  as  strike 
breakers,  84;  statement  of 
standard  of  living,  131 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  Utopia,  231; 
negroes  correspond  to  bonds 
men  in,  435 

Morgan,  Senator  John  T.,  views 
on  negro,  165 

Moton,  Robert  R.,  views  on 
slavery,  in 

Mound  Bayou,  Miss.,  description 
of,  485 

Mulattoes,  existence  of,  13; 
definition  and  per  cent,  of, 
50;  leaders  of  negro  race, 
287 


576 


Index 


N 


Nation's  influence  impaired  by 
the  negro,  149 

Nation's  self-respect  injured  by 
presence  of  negro,  528 

Nationality,  aspirations  for, 
474 

Negro,  the,  an  alien  race,  8; 
an  inferior  race,  9;  an  unas- 
similable  race,  12 ;  characteris 
tics  of,  16;  must  solve  prob 
lem  for  himself,  27;  a  subject 
and  $  dependent  race,  30; 
condition  in  colonial  period, 
3 1 ;  record  in  Revolutionary 
War,  33;  in  War  of  1812,  39; 
representation  in  Congress, 
43;  numbers  of,  47;  centre 
of  population,  51 ;  distribution 
of  population,  52;  by  states, 
53;  percentage  in  population, 
55; -in  large  cities,  57;  increase 
since  1790,  59;  illiteracy,  59; 
conjugal  condition,  62;  as  a 
farmer,  63 ;  estimates  of  pro 
perty,  64 ;  present  condition  of, 
Book  I.,  Chap.  IV.;  progress, 
difficulty  in  ascertaining,  69; 
political  condition,  70;  exclu 
sion  from  public  office,  71; 
debarred  from  Legislatures, 
73;  separate  schools  for,  76; 
capacity  of,  views  of  author, 
77;  industrial  position,  78; 
no  labor  opportunity  in  the 
North,  82 ;  losing  ground  in 
occupations,  84;  social  isola 
tion  of,  87-105;  views  of 
race  prejudice,  89;  social 
outlaw  in  the  North,  90; 
religious  exclusion,  92 ;  un 
wholesome  physical  condition, 
128;  engaged  in  menial  occu 
pations,  134;  criminality  of, 
135;  not  to  be  allowed  educa 
tion,  170;  cause  of  lynching 
problem,  188;  effect  on 
democratic  principles,  233; 
not  fully  a  citizen,  233 ;  provi 
sions  for  disfranchisement  of, 
249;  would  never  regain  fran 
chise,  273 ;  solution  of  the  pro 
blem,  Book  VI.,  Chap.  VI .;  illit 
eracy,  285;  mulattoes  leaders 


of  race,  287;  comparative 
progress  of,  294;  calls  other 
races  to  his  aid,  300;  removal 
of,  suggested,  3  3  9 ;  opportunity 
lies  in  colonization,  350;  im 
migration  of,  should  be  pro 
hibited,  362;  establishment 
of  penal  colony  for,  374; 
should  be  employed  on 
public  works  outside  country, 
376;  removal  of,  if  necessary, 
377;  opportunities  for  emi 
gration,  386;  communities 
could  emigrate,  387;  oppor 
tunities  in  Hayti  and  San 
Domingo,  394;  need  of  leader 
ship,  402,  408;  does  he  really 
desire  liberty?  407;  injurious 
effect  of,  on  U.  S.,  418;  will  he 
accept  assisted  emigration  ? 
423;  paradox  concerning,  424; 
not  necessary  to  the  South, 
432;  views  of  colonization, 
460 ;  would  be  willing  to  accept 
Lincoln's  plan,  462;  welfare 
of,  the  first  concern,  468; 
relative  numbers  of,  471; 
national  existence  possible  for, 
471;  stages  of  progress,  473; 
never  has  established  a 
nationality,  474;  door  of 
hope  for,  475;  capacity  for 
development,  479;  associated 
with  non-progressive  condi 
tions,  494;  deters  immigration 
to  the  South,  504  et  seq.,  557; 
effect  of  departure  of,  on 
the  South,  507;  imitative 
instinct  of,  512;  employed 
as  strike-breakers,  521;  the 
final  question  regarding,  564 
Negro  criminality,  discussion 

•°f>  375. 

Negro  criminals,  transportation 
suggested,  339;  should  be 
deported,  374;  removal  of, 
beneficial  to  the  race,  476 

Negro  leaders,  would  not  accept 
plan,  425;  views  of  more 
enlightened,  on  colonization, 
460 

Negro  literature,  pessimistic  tone 

°f,  3°3 
Negro  plot,  statement  regarding, 

32 


Index 


577 


Negro  problem,  character  of, 
Book  I.,  Chap.  I.;  importance 
of,  4;  geographical  character, 
6 ;  cause  of,  7 ;  Booker  T.  Wash 
ington  's  definition  of,  15; 
author's  definition,  15;  no 
precedent  for,  24;  to  whom 
does  it  belong?  26;  history 
of,  Book  I.,  Chap.  II.;  his 
torical  summary,  44;  dimen 
sions  of,  Book  I.,  Chap.  II.; 
literature  of,  103;  necessity  of 
solution,  125;  resemblance  to 
slavery  question,  127;  Lin 
coln's  solution  of,  Chap.  VII., 
Book  II. ;  timeliness  of  discus 
sion,  141;  solution  of  the 
North,  Book  II.,  Chap.  III.; 
effect  of  solution  of  North, 
226;  failure  of  industrial  solu 
tion,  293;  the  proposed  solu 
tion,  Book  III.,  Chap.  I.; 
general  statement  of  plan, 
337;  emigration  would  re 
move,  436;  gravity  of,  468; 
results  of  solution  of,  518 

New  England,  slavery  in,  32; 
no  negro  legislators  in,  73 ; 
conditions  of  prosperity  in, 

497 

Niagara  movement,  the,  state 
ment  of,  295 

North,  responsibility  for  pro 
blem,  27;  labor  opportunities 
for  negro  in,  82;  danger  of 
solution  of,  220;  effect  of 
solution  of,  226;  would  favor 
assisted  emigration,  476; 
comparison  of  progress  with 
South,  488  et  seq. 

North  Carolina  disfranchises 
negroes,  250 

Northwestern  Territory,  slavery 
prohibited  in,  36 


Objections,  discussion  of,  Book 
III.,  Chap.  IV.;  division  of, 
411;  as  to  justice  of  plan, 
411;  as  to  place  of  colonization, 
420;  as  to  safety  of  negro, 
421;  as  to  feasibility  of  plan, 
423 ;  on  the  part  of  the  negro, 
424;  on  the  part  of  the  South, 

37 


427;    as    to    need    of    servile 

labor,  433;  none  found  to  be 

insuperable,  436 
Ogden,     Robert    C.,    views    on 

negro  problem,  215 
Oklahoma,   Jim  Crow  laws   in, 

119 
Ordinance    of     1787,    adoption 

of,  35 


Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  claims 
problem  as  Southerner,  26; 
offers  no  solution,  155;  essay 
on  lynching,  191 

Panama,  negroes  should  be 
employed  at,  376;  Lincoln 
proposes  to  establish  colony 

at>  377 

Parsons,  Hon.  Herbert,  state 
ment  of  living  expenses  of 
letter  carrier,  132 

Penal  colony,  should  be  estab 
lished  for  negroes,  374 

Peonage,  tendency  to  reduce 
negro  to,  82;  depends  on 
presence  of  negro,  430;  diffi 
culty  in  suppressing,  520 

Phillips,  Wendell,  favored  amal 
gamation,  158 

Plan,  the  proposed,  detailed 
statement  of,  363;  should  be 
made  automatic,  363 ;  contains 
provisions  for  individuals, 
364;  expense  considered,.  365; 
discussion  of,  389;  place 
where  negro  may  go,  390; 
objections  considered,  408; 
characterized  by  various  per 
sons,  410;  objections  as  to 
justice  of,  411;  vital  to  the 
negro,  470;  would  if  adopted 
bring  immigration  to  the 
South,  559 

Political  condition  of  negro, 
70 

Political  isolation  of  South, 
reason  of,  143 

Political  phase  of  problem,  Book 
II.,  Chap.  IV. 

Population,  infecundity  of  na 
tive,  546  et  seq. 

Primary,  the  white,  develop 
ment  of,  251 


578 


Index 


Princeton,  Ky.,  outrages  at, 
203 

Property,  valuation  of,  in  1904, 
66;  contrast  as  to  value  of, 
between  North  and  South, 
490 

Property  of  negroes,  value  of, 
63  et  seq. 

Pullen-Burry,  Mrs.  B.,  expe 
riences  at  Tuskegee,  224 


Race  issue,  discussion  cannot 
be  avoided,  519 

Race  types,  discussion  of,  539 

Race  wars,  character  of,  182; 
continuing  danger  of,  525; 
how  they  may  arise,  525; 
none  except  relating  to  negro, 
554 

Railways,  contrast  between 
value  in  North  and  South, 
495 

Reconstruction,  difficulties  of, 
234;  method  adopted,  236; 
Elaine  on,  237;  acceptance 
of  failure  of,  563 

Reed,  John  C.,  views  on  slavery 
as  an  education  of  the  negro, 
112;  suggests  impracticable 
solution,  388;  plan  for  segre 
gation  of  negro,  456 

Removal  of  negro  may  be  neces 
sary  as  to  part  of  race,  377 

Republican  form  of  government, 
does  not  exist  in  the  South, 
264;  requirements  of,  267 

Republican  party,  protest 
against  negro  disfranchise- 
ment,  278;  negroes  in  con 
vention  of,  279;  same  subject 
524 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  estimate 
of  negro  property,  65;  mes 
sage  on  Brownsville  incident, 
99;  denunciation  of  lynching, 
202;  address  at  Tuskegee,  207 

"Rotten  Boroughs,  "  system  of, 
in  Mississippi,  266 


San     Domingo,     Gen.     Grant's 
project    of    annexation,    393; 


present  condition,  394;  a 
dependency  of  the  United 
States,  531 

Schools,  separate,  for  negroes, 
76;  upheld  by  law,  356 

Schurz,  Carl,  suggests  no  remedy, 
156 

Sectional  strife,  attributable  to 
the  negro,  144 

Seward,  William  H.,  opinion  of 
negroes,  449 

Sherman,  Roger,  view  of  sla 
very,  37 

Slaveholders  few  in  number, 
502 

Slavery,  not  mentioned  in  Con 
stitution,  37;  efforts  to  re 
strict,  41;  progress  of  negro 
through,  no;  degraded  man 
ual  labor,  501 

Smith,  Governor  Hoke,  declara 
tion  of  Southern  sentiment, 
163;  endeavors  in  vain  to 
secure  immigrants  for  Geor 
gia,  556 

Socialism  rejects  negroes,  92 

Solution  of  problem,  statement 
°f»  3395  radical  character, 
339;  no  exact  analogy,  340; 
negro  would  accept,  341; 
not  novel,  342;  not  an  easy 
one,  349;  present  time  favor 
able  to,  349;  ways  and  means 
to  bring  about,  352;  the  plan 
discussed,  354;  easier  now 
than  ever  before,  383;  some 
disadvantages  in,  384;  mod 
ern  developments  favorable 
to,  385 

'South,  relation  to  negro  prob 
lem,  26;  political  isolation  of, 
143;  solution  of  problem,  160; 
consensus  of  opinion  in  regard 
to  negro  stated,  172;  results  of 
solution  of,  174;  solution  im 
possible,  176;  has  it  republican 
form  of  government?  264;  its 
justification  of  disfranchise- 
ment,  268 ;  would  object  to  the 
assisted  emigration  of  the 
negro,  427;  paradox  of  its 
position,  428;  inconsistent  at 
titude  of,  429;  effect  of 
adoption  of  Lincoln's  plan 
upon,  Chap.  II.  of  Book  IV.; 


Index 


579 


South — Continued 

comparison  of  progress  with 
North,  488  et  seq.\  progress 
since  the  close  of  Civil  War, 
498;  benefits  to  be  derived 
by,  from  elimination  of  the 
negro,  498  et  seq.\  climate  not 
injurious  to  white  men,  502; 
seeks  immigrants,  506;  de 
crease  in  political  importance, 
508;  removal  of  negro  would 
elevate  moral  tone  of,  511; 
moral  isolation  of,  511;  sen 
sitive  to  criticism,  523;  can 
not  induce  immigration  while 
negro  remains,  555 

South  Carolina  attempts  to 
secure  immigrants,  556 

Springfield,  111.,  lynching  in,  199 

Springfield,  O.,  lynching  in,  193 

Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  views 
on  condition  of  negro,  173; 
credentials  as  Senator,  237 

Stone,  Alfred  Holt,  comparison 
of  efficiency  of  Italian  and 
negro,  432;  points  out  su 
periority  of  immigrant,  503 

Sumner,  Charles,  favored  amal 
gamation,  158;  opposed  adop 
tion  of  second  section  of  i4th 
Amendment,  355;  supported 
Civil  Rights  Bill,  357 

Swanson,  Gov.  Claude  A.,  views 
on  negro  problem,  170 

Switzerland,  race  conditions 
in,  25 


Tables,  negro  population,  48; 
distribution  of,  52,  53,  54; 
percentage  of,  55;  high  pro 
portion  of,  56;  in  cities,  57; 
increase  of,  59;  illiteracy  in, 
60;  valuation  of  property, 
66;  negro  criminality,  136; 
lynchings,  183  et  seq.',  of 
negro  disfranchisement,  260. 
261,  262,  264;  operation  of 
plan,  370;  increase  of  white 
population  by  decades,  419; 
comparison  of  increase  of 
white  and  negro  population, 
471;  comparisons  between 
the  North  and  South,  489- 


491;  differences  on  import 
ant  points,  494;  educational 
statistics,  495;  political  im 
portance,  508;  immigration, 

544 

Taft,  Wm.  H.,  favors  negro 
education,  218;  calls  Lincoln 's 
plan  "utterly  fatuous,"  412; 
accepts  disfranchisement  of 
negro,  563 

Taylor,  Hannis,  views  on  negro 
vote,  277 

Texas,  attitude  of  people  to 
ward  negro,  272 

Thirteenth  Amendment,  adop 
tion  of,  234 

Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  philosophic 
observations  on  politics,  5 1 1 

Tillman,  Senator  Benj.  R.,  re 
marks  on  race  antagonism, 
153;  platform  for  dealing 
with  negro,  164;  views  on 
disfranchisement,  273;  would 
accept  colonization,  457 

Time  necessary  to  effect  negro 
emigration,  369 

Tribune,  Chicago,  statistics  of 
lynching,  182 

Turner,  Bishop  Henry  M.,  letter 
to  author  favoring  assisted 
emigration,  461 

Tuskegee  Institute,  character 
of,  107;  disfranchisement  of 
negro  at,  108;  Roosevelt  at, 
207;  an  English  traveller  at, 
224 


U 


Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  influence 
of,  42 ;  remarks  of  Simon 
Legree,  118;  extract  from, 
381 


V 


Vardaman,  Governor  James  K., 
opinion  of  the  negro,  167; 
denounces  negro  education, 
220;  remarks  on  the  impos 
sibility  of  suppressing  discus 
sion  of  negro  problem,  520 

Virginia  disfranchises  negroes, 
250 


58o 


Index 


Vote,  disappearance  of,  in  South, 
261 

W 

Walker,  Francis  A.,  views  on 
immigration,  545 

Warfield,  Governor,  views  on 
suffrage,  169 

Washington,  Booker  T.,  defini 
tion  of  negro  problem,  1 5 ; 
views  on  labor  conditions, 
86 ;  evades  discussion  of  funda 
mental  principles,  97;  pre 
sents  no  definite  solution,  156; 
partly  of  white  blood,  287; 
views  on  solution  of  pro 
blem,  289;  views  on  progress 
of  race,  293 ;  opposes  exclusion 
of  Chinese,  301;  description 
of  Tuskegee  methods  in  Africa, 
402;  would  be  averse  to  Lin 
coln's  solution,  426;  descrip 
tion  of  Mound  Bayou,  Miss., 
485 

Washington,  city  of,  influence 
of  negro  upon,  113;  negro 
criminality  in,  114 

Washington,  George,  views  on 
negro  slavery,  442 


Webster,  Daniel,  said  he  would 
be  disposed  to  incur  almost 
any  expense  to  remove  ne 
groes,  445 

Wells,  H.  G.,  views  on  negro 
problem,  96;  question  as  to 
outcome,  154;  remarks  on 
re-establishment  of  slavery, 
522;  observations  on  impor 
tance  of  negro  problem,  534 

White,  Rev.  John  E.,  observa 
tions  on  claim  of  race  supe 
riority,  500 

White,  Rev.  W.  J.,  banished 
from  Atlanta,  196 

White  man's  country,  the  United 
States  to  be,  518 

Wilcox,  Walter  F.,  conclusions 
as  to  progress  of  negroes, 
472;  statistics  relating  to 
increase  of  population,  546 

Williams,  John  Sharp,  views 
on  negro  problem,  170;  views 
on  negro  disfranchisement, 
266;  vote  in  his  district,  id. 

Wilmington,  Del.,  lynching  in, 
197 

Women,  negro,  lynched  in  Ar 
kansas,  199 


'18 


LD  2lA-38m-5/68 
(J40lslO)476B 


.General  Library 
University  of  Calif  orni 


Berkeley 


ornia 


